Trust Me
by Blousey
Summary: It all started with the classic "Trust Fall," and neither Quinn nor Rachel expected what would come next. Faberry. Rated T for any future fluff.
1. The Trust Fall

Mr. Schuester was standing at the front of the room, just as he always did, facing his Glee Club kids. They were all paired off in their usual way, some super-close to people and others keeping a reasonable distance. For all they'd gone through, Schue didn't feel it had been enough to truly bring them together as a whole. So, today, he had an exercise in mind, rather than a week-long assignment. He hoped it wouldn't backfire on him, though a part of his mind still held doubt.

"Alright," he said, addressing them and focusing their attention. "Today we're going to try a little something different." From the start of his words, people were giving him wary looks. Rachel, of course, was perched on the edge of her chair, sitting next to Finn, and ready to tackle this new challenge. "Today we're gonna do a trust exercise." Groans echoed throughout the room. "Hey, just because we are where we are, doesn't mean we're perfect, guys. Believe it or not, I'm not stupid." Laughter. "I see how some of you guys act around each other, for better or worse. So, stand up! Everybody, up!"

The entire group obliged, albeit most of them did it unwillingly. Naturally, Santana and Brittany were side by side, and Rachel and Finn were the same, but a row below them. Artie and Tina, Kurt and Mercedes, Puck, Matt, and Mike. Quinn, however, though standing by Mercedes, swayed uneasily, as if she was uncomfortable. Unfortunately, she could no longer blame her discomfort of the pregnancy, now that Beth was born.

Mr. Schue laughed half-heartedly at the conflicted emotions among the kids. He reached into his coat pocket for a slip of paper, and unfolded it. "I've been thinking about how to go about this, and I decided we'd go old-fashioned and do the ever famous 'Trust Fall!'" At this, everyone, including the ever perky Rachel, looked worried and unsure. Someone could get hurt, couldn't they? It was a good trust building exercise, sure, but it was also a good way to spite someone by letting them fall. "Oh, come on, guys! It'll be fun."

"Uh, Mr. Schue, not like I'm not glad you're doing this and all," Artie spoke, "I just don't know how well I'd do falling in a wheelchair."

Artie had a point. "Right… You can sit this out then. That's okay though because I've got more ideas. Ones that you can do, too." Mr. Schuester had completely forgotten about Artie's inability to fall when he was confined to a wheelchair, so someone else would have to sit out, too. Shoot.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue."

"No problem, Artie. Alright, guys, time for partners. But there's a catch. You don't get to pick your partners. I do. Now, step forward with your partner when I call your names." He scanned his list and decided to ask Tina to sit out. She wasn't meant to be Artie's partner, but he thought it'd work out anyway. Thinking on his feet, he continued. "We have…. Matt and Mercedes, Mike and Santana, Kurt and Finn, Brittany and Puck, aaaaand Rachel and Quinn. Also, Tina, if you don't mind, would you sit this out with Artie?"

"S-Sure, Mr. Schue," Tina agreed, taking her seat next to Artie to watch the falls.

"I guess we'll go in order of the names, so… Matt and Mercedes. You're first."

"This'll be no problem," Mercedes boasted, grinning as she got in position to fall first. Glancing at first to ensure that his hands were there to catch her, she faced the other kids and fell. Matt caught her wonderfully, and lifted her back up. It was Mercedes turn to catch Matt and, besides being a bit intimidated by his size, she was confident. And she caught him fine.

"Mike and Santana?" Schue cleared his throat, and repeated a bit louder, "Mike and Santana?" Finally, this directed Santana's attention away from Mike and towards Mr. Schue.

"Yeah, yeah," Santana said, waving a hand dismissively. Making no big shows, they did their job, and sat back down to flirt once more.

Mr. Schue shrugged with a slight sigh. This was not the reaction he wanted right off the bat. Everyone else seemed very focused though, so he just put it up to Santana being herself. "Next we have Kurt and Finn."

Kurt stood up immediately, more than ready to try this, though he voiced his concerns to Mr. Schuester in a whisper. "I'm not sure I can hold his weight, Mr. Schue." Mr. Schue nodded and told Kurt he'd be there for back-up if Kurt lost his hold. Finn was still sitting in his chair, knuckles white from twisting and turning them, tightly gripped on one another. He'd gotten quite worked up over the fact that he had to do this trust thing with Kurt, of all people. He wanted to chalk it up to Mr. Schue trying to set them up or something equally childish, but he ignored it. After all, he put Rachel and Quinn together. Pairs of opposites had to work it out one way or another.

Finn finally rose from his seat and approached Kurt, swallowing audibly. He stood behind Kurt and held out his arms. Kurt put his arms out wide from his side, donned a grin, and let himself fall. Finn freaked out at first. The moment Kurt made contact with his arms, he was ready to throw him away like the homophobe he seemed to be. He gained some self-control from not doing it, and that's what Mr. Schue wanted to see. Schue patted Finn's shoulders encouragingly, and Finn lifted Kurt so he was standing. They switched positions.

"Oh God I hope I don't drop you," Kurt muttered. Finn heard it, but wasn't sure if it was because he would be too heavy, or because of that thing, that like… that CRUSH he had on him. Finn tentatively held out his arms and squeezed his eyes shut, falling back towards Kurt. The boy grunted at the first impact and Mr. Schue quickly came to his aid. Finn knew no better, since his eyes were closed. The two lifted Finn back to his feet. The quarterback couldn't scurry to his feet fast enough. Kurt, on the other hand, stood there, flattening any wrinkles on his clothes and fixed his hair before he was prepared to sit down.

"Rachel and Quinn, you're up."

"Actually, it's Puck and Brittany," Quinn spat as soon as she heard his words. They were not next. Quinn didn't want to even touch Miss Rachel Berry, in all her diva glory. She'd probably get on her case for holding her too roughly or something equally idiotic. She could not believe Mr. Schue did this to her. To them. Wait, no, to her. Just… her.

"Ah, right," Mr. Schue said as he check the list again. "Sorry, Quinn. Puck and Brittany, have at it." _Sorry Quinn?_ Rachel thought. _Why not "Sorry, Rachel?" After all, I'm a part of this, too, despite Quinn's lack of enthusiasm._ Honestly, Rachel found herself pathetic at the moment. Quinn really hated her and would do anything to make this end in ruins, or, better yet, make it not happen at all. Rachel saw it as an opportunity. Even though she was only bearable to most of the Glee kids, she wanted to be at least bearable to Quinn, too. This was the perfect chance to show her that she could be tolerable in anyone's eyes. That is, if Quinn would notice.

"If you say so, Schue." Puck smirked, and Brittany looked utterly confused. She followed him anyway and the entire exercise between them was full of giggles and was all around laughable in itself. They were a goofy pair that's Schue made, that's for sure.

"_Now,_ it's our turn," Quinn said. Rachel looked over at her, surprised to hear her comment that quickly. Quinn stared back with an expression that said, 'Well?' Rachel got out of her seat and made her way to stand next to Quinn in front of the room. It'd seemed everyone had spoken about who would go first, but Quinn had refused to talk to Man-Hands. They glanced awkwardly at one another, until Rachel stepped behind Quinn. "Useless side-looks would have gotten us nowhere." Quinn couldn't argue with that, so she frowned instead.

"You better catch me, Berry," she snapped.

"I am completely aware of my needing to catch you and not drop you, Quinn, as that is the point of this exercise. I wouldn't—"

"You better catch me, Berry," Quinn repeated with just as much venom in her voice as before.

Rachel shut her mouth and extended her arms. Like she was going to drop Quinn Fabray, of all people. Quinn constantly turned back to check if Rachel's hands were there, and Rachel kept whispering to Quinn, "I'm not going to drop you." Finally, she stopped turning around and fell.

The fall was nothing if not simple. But when Quinn's body felt Rachel's touch, she smiled. She had absolutely no inkling as to why she did, but she smiled. In an instant, Quinn felt soft, warm arms wrap around her stomach (which was now considerably flatter and more toned since she gave birth) and she bit her lip to stop herself from grinning like a fool. Rachel had such delicate yet strong arms. And her hands were definitely anything but "Man-Hands." They were gentle and caring, keeping her safe. Before Quinn knew what was happening, Rachel was helping Quinn back onto the ground. So that's why Rachel had done that with her arms. Was she supposed to do that, too? None of the other pairs did… As she stood, she fervently refused to look at Rachel, unsure of how she felt right then. Why was she thinking such stupid and obscene things about Treasure Trail? It was embarrassing, if not pointless. Then Rachel's hair brushed her shoulder ever so subtly as the girl moved to take the falling stance.

Quinn marveled at the amazingly silky feeling that was Rachel's hair. She caught herself staring, actually appreciating someone other than herself. _This is dumb. You are in charge, and you are straight. Get it together. Rachel's not worth it._ Despite the self-talk, she was utterly intrigued by the exotic female before her. And to think she even had to point out to herself that she's straight. Why did she have to jump to that conclusion in the first place?

"Quinn," Rachel said, waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. This broke Quinn out of the whirling winds that tore up every shred of gravity in her head, and made her focus on the task at hand. Not the girl at hand.

"I'm here, I'm ready," she spoke, her voice much meeker than either girl was used to.

Rachel shrugged off the odd tone and, unbeknownst to Quinn, who was still staring at Rachel's entire body in full force, began to fall. A second too late, Quinn thrust her arms out. Rachel had already fallen. Everyone in the room laughed, except for the girls in the center spotlight and Mr. Schue. Rachel gazed up at Quinn, whose face screamed apologies, and ran out of the room, tears already overflowing. How could Quinn do that to her?

Rachel ran out in the hallway and sank against a nearby locker, thinking to herself, _How could she _not_?_

Inside, a dumb-struck Quinn was at a loss of what to do. She hadn't meant to drop Rachel. If she could of, she would have wrapped the girl in her arms, just as she had done previously to her. Why did she let herself get caught up and make a fool of Rachel? More importantly, who was she to be caring about Rachel in the first place?

Mr. Schuester watched in quiet confusion, finally deciding that going after Rachel was best, but Quinn stopped him. She glanced at the others and pulled him close. "It's my fault. Let me do it. Please." Schuester nodded and let her head out into the hallway to speak with the girl whose trust she'd probably broken.

"Rachel, I—"

Rachel wiped at her tears with her sweater's sleeves, sniffling to try and prevent any more from falling. "I know. It was extremely careless and stupid to think that you would be there to catch me after I caught you when you were not in great spirits about our pairing." Here she was, crying, and the girl could still ramble and go on unnecessarily. So many words weren't always needed. Quinn bent down, and was able to sit on the floor with Rachel, smoothing her skirt out.

"No. I was stupid not to catch you. You caught me and it's my fault. I didn't mean to let you go. Can you even try to believe what I'm saying? It was an accident."

Rachel stared at Quinn through watery brown eyes, having to look away after so long. With the way things were, she could only take in so much of Quinn at once, and Rachel figured it was probably less if the idea were reversed. But, what Rachel didn't comprehend, was why Quinn came out here and didn't high-five Santana and smirk as Mr. Schue came out to comfort her. "How is _that_ an accident? You don't simply drop someone when that's the only thing you _don't_ have to do. Unless it was on purpose, of course."

"You talk too much, you know that?"

Rachel sniffed and wiped at her eyes again, murmuring in distress, "Tell me something I don't know."

"Alright then. You, Rachel Berry, are beautiful." Did she really just say that?

The brunette at Quinn's side lifted her head to look at her, not sure how to respond. Did Quinn Fabray just say that?

"Look. The bottom line is, I'm sorry for letting you fall. Honestly. I can't tell you why I dropped you, at least not now, but I'm so, so sorry."

"Do you really mean that?"

"What, that I can't tell you, or that I'm extremely sorry?"

"…Both."

"Yes. I do." Quinn watched Rachel's chest heave in what was likely grief, embarrassment, and confusion. And Quinn was the center of it all. She reached over and rubbed Rachel's arm gently, assuring her that her words were true. "I just- I can't tell you, okay? Maybe when things aren't so stupid and ridiculous and out of place, but that's not now. But, I can say that I'm sorrier than you would think I could be. After all, I know I've been a real bitch to you sometimes."

Rachel was comforted by Quinn's touch, and grabbed her hand mid-rub. Rachel held it tight and looked at their hands, colors contrasting, yet fitting together so wonderfully. "Sometimes?" Rachel laughed quietly and gazed up at Quinn for more reassurance.

"Okay, a lot of times. But that doesn't change what I said." Quinn didn't remove her hand from Rachel's, as she tingled from the newfound contact. She felt like she was flying, almost as high as when Rachel's arms had slipped around her during their Trust Fall.

"Okay," Rachel said reluctantly. As much as her heart and soul and every nerve ending on her body wanted to forgive Quinn for everything ever and just hold her, she felt a pang of guilt that it was somehow wrong to ask that much. She squeezed the pale hand in hers, watching with awestruck eyes when Quinn didn't flinch or even try to move away.

"Ya know," Quinn started, playing with Rachel's fingers absently. "We should probably go back in there. If it wasn't so quiet, they'd think we're ripping each others' throats out."

At that, Rachel laughed. It was true. The two girls weren't on good terms (well, until now?) and the Glee kids would definitely want to know what's up. She smiled and nodded at Quinn, answering the unasked question. They had to go in there, and soon. "I… I just can't face them yet. It's too much."

Once again, Quinn's guilt washed over her and, without thinking, she pulled the smaller, brunette girl into a tight hug. "I won't let you fall," she whispered. And somewhere, in the moments those words were out, things changed.


	2. Just Two People

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, nor did I in the first chapter.

Please read and review, I'd love to hear your feedback. This one's a little more scattered than I'd wanted, but I hope it's still good.

* * *

Rachel had asked Quinn, in their little hallway heart to heart, to tell the Glee clubbers that Rachel was okay and everything was fine, and that they weren't killing each other. Yet. Quinn had laughed at the last part, but decidedly left that out when she actually told everyone. Rachel hadn't wanted to leave the hallway (or enter the Glee room, Quinn wasn't sure which), so Quinn promised she'd update the Glee members on the situation. They all chatted for a while, glad all was well, and then Mr. Schuester allowed them to leave without an assignment for now. The day had been stressful enough, though he hadn't wanted it to be that way at all. The high schoolers filed out of the room, each going their separate ways, saying good-bye to Rachel as they passed her. She was standing now, but Quinn knew it wouldn't last long. Despite the fact that they'd made up as best as they could, she was still sore about the whole ordeal. And, honestly? Quinn didn't blame her. Couldn't, in fact.

Quinn asked Mr. Schue, before he left, if it was okay for him to leave them there for a bit longer. Each had a ride home, and could always carpool if need be. He didn't deny them, and Quinn proceeded out of the room to sit next to Rachel, who had collapsed on the floor again as soon as Mr. Schue had left her sight. She always was good at staying strong. Quinn pulled Rachel close and rubbed her back, resting her head atop the brunette's. Was this so wrong? She couldn't decide.

"Is this wrong?" she asked boldly. It came out as accusing, but she hadn't even intended on saying it. Not bothering to take it back because she was curious, she looked at Rachel, who was pulling her head away from Quinn's warm, comforting neck.

"What do you mean?" Rachel inquired, obviously tired and tear-worn.

"This," Quinn replied, gesturing to them.

"Two… people, sharing a moment of intimacy in a time of hurt and regret? I would think not. It's natural, isn't it?"

"People?" Had she avoided the word "friends" or something? "People," she agreed quietly. Neither of them were ready to go to such great lengths, as silly and juvenile as it seemed.

"Is that not..?" Rachel asked, leaving it open because she didn't know how to put it either.

"No, no," Quinn rushed in quickly. "No. We're… just two people. People in need of comfort."

Rachel nodded slowly and leaned back into Quinn, wrapping her arms around her for the first time since their attempt at trust. Yet again, that feeling was there inside Quinn. The one that enveloped her in happiness and comfort, and that made her feel like she was soaring, and could conquer anything. It was all a bit too much.

"I have to go," Quinn muttered against Rachel's ear. She gently pried the brunette off of her, and hurried to grab her car keys and simply escape. It was all too confusing and conflicting. "See ya," she whispered in a slight cough as she cleared her throat.

"See you," Rachel returned, waving a hand for a second, and pulling it down when no gesture was given back to her. She stood and walked to her locker, which was near where they'd sat.

Quinn peered around the corner, biting her lip hard. It was difficult leaving Rachel, especially in her current state. The blonde watched as the girl threw open the metal door, clanging loudly, and ripped down a big golden star off the pseudo-wall. She threw it on the ground emptily and stared at her reflection in the mini-mirror for a while. That, too, she tossed away in spite of all she worked for to get the courage just to have those in her locker. Quinn, strangely enough, knew that it took so much for her to get them up there and so little for her to tear them down. Rachel was awfully mastered in that area, it seemed.

Quinn sighed softly and turned to go to the parking lot, her car, and eventually… home. The last place she wanted to be. If she could, she'd be in Rachel's arms again, but that ship had sailed, and Quinn had forced it to leave. She thought about the scene in the hallway, and shook her head. She knew that tomorrow there would be another gold star in place, as well as another mirror, and the incident never would have happened.

* * *

Quinn was testy that morning. She hadn't slept at all, and her outfits made her angry, no matter if it was her favorite one or her most stylish. She didn't touch her breakfast, and she yelled at her parents earlier than usual. She was pushier at Cheerios practice, and she ditched first period to lock herself in a bathroom stall. And, to think, this was all because of stupid Rachel Berry.

Though Quinn probably couldn't care less, Rachel had slept fine and was her usual perky self by the time she arrived at school. Her smile was stuck in place as always, but Rachel seemed to avoid Quinn like the plague. It wasn't easy, but she managed to do it. With the way Quinn was feeling that morning, she wasn't about to have a single second of it. It was rough to track down that tiny thing, but Quinn Fabray did it. She'd ignored the constant raised eyebrows every time she asked for a certain Rachel berry, and took her leads. She finally cornered her in the girls' bathroom.

Quinn stood quietly until Rachel exited the stall. In hearing no flush, and observing that Rachel didn't head for the sinks, she could tell Rachel wasn't in there to pee. Her puffy eyes really did make it a dead give-away.

"Berry."

"Quinn," Rachel said, nodding at the girl and walking towards the door with a sniffle.

Quinn stepped in her way, leaning against the door. "Not so fast. I wanna know where the hell you've been and why in God's _name_ you haven't even talked to me today." So much for not using His name in vain.

"I've been in class, Quinn. I do have an academic record to uphold. And as for why I haven't talked to you, that's because I have nothing to say. Good day, Quinn Fabray." Rachel nodded politely and made another stretch for the door. Quinn grabbed her hand, which effectively stopped her.

Rachel flinched measurably the second her hand was grabbed. She didn't know what to expect from the brooding blonde, and tried to jerk her hand away. Anything to stop that… that _feeling. _She kept pulling away, but Quinn wouldn't release Rachel's hand.

"Look here, Berry. I don't know what is up with you today, but I'm not about to let you roll off some fancy excuse to get me to let you leave. I want to know where you've been and why you haven't talked to me." As her words went on, they softened and Quinn looked nearly desperate for an answer.

"No, Quinn." Rachel right-out refused to tell Quinn anything. "It's none of your concern to know my whereabouts, nor my reasons for not speaking with you up until now. I have to go."

Quinn weakened physically, slumping against the door now, rather than blocking it strongly. _Reasons?_ Quinn thought. _There's more than one? What else could there be?_ "Fine," she whispered, hesitantly moving away from the door. She expected Rachel to burst out of the restroom without waiting for her to properly get out of the direct line, but she waited.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," Rachel offered, reaching out to hug the slim, blonde girl.

"Don't be," Quinn retorted, storming out the door instead of Rachel.

Rachel stood alone in the restroom and turned right back around to go cry in a stall again. Her academic reputation usually came first, but today it wasn't going to.

* * *

That afternoon, Glee club had begun, and all were present except for Rachel. Everyone was making their assumptions on her absence, teasing her and making jokes about the brunette. Some even laughed about her doing this just to storm in any second like the diva she was. Quinn sat around all the incessant talking and laughter, staring at the hands in her lap, knowing exactly why Rachel wasn't in attendance. And it took every ounce of Quinn's will not to scream at all her fellow Glee members to shut the hell up about Rachel. Because they didn't know the half of it.

10 minutes after they'd all started, and Mr. Schuester was giving some lesson or another about music, Rachel walked in the door. She looked perfectly fine, though there was not a trace of a smile on her face the moment she opened the door. That changed soon after, to offer a weak one to her peers, but Quinn saw through it.

"Rachel," Mr. Schue greeted her. "Glad you could make it. Have a seat." He patted her back as she passed him, and took an empty seat a good seat or two away from everyone else. She wouldn't let Finn close to her.

Quinn tuned out Schue's speech and wondered if Rachel would let her sit next to her, since nobody else could. She shook her head slightly. _No, it was impossible._ Rachel wasn't even her responsibility to worry about. Yet, the blonde felt attached to the brunette and wasn't ready to let her go. Rachel looked over and met Quinn's gaze that had, admittedly, been there for a long time. Quinn smiled carefully, not wanting to send Rachel into a fit just as she seemed to do these days. Rachel wanted to smile back, but she refrained. She gave the blonde a sympathetic half-smile, and nodded her head, and then turned her focus back to the words Mr. Schue was speaking.

Quinn had the urge to pull her hair out and scream, then walk over to Rachel and shake her senseless until she talked to her. Quinn did not like being denied. She wasn't used to rejection.

Rejection. As much as the word stung, she had to wonder if that's what it was. She wished it wasn't with every fiber of her being, and not because she hated getting let down, but because she absolutely hated getting let down by Rachel Berry.

Rachel fidgeted in her chair. She was visibly upset, as she figured everyone could tell, and it had nothing to do with anything but a bitchy, blonde Cheerio. The brunette yearned to let it all out and pour out her feelings to Quinn, but she was deathly afraid to do so. She _loved_ Quinn Fabray, and now she only saw more reason to avoid her. More than the other girl could ever know. She looked over at Quinn once more and noticed the way she'd done- or, more accurately, not done- her hair today. It was messy, pulled back into a ponytail much less immaculate than anyone was used to, and her ponytail wasn't even curled. It was like she'd slapped into place and she hadn't even cared.

Quinn felt Rachel's gaze and was instantly self-conscious, trying to fix her hair and make it appear less crappy than it was. Quickly, Quinn pulled out her notebook and a pen. She scribbled something on it, and now she had to find a way to give it to Rachel. She was several feet away, and people would become suspicious if someone like Quinn asked them to pass a note to someone like Rachel. Honestly, she would understand that. She was just as suspicious as they might be.

Mr. Schuester clapped loudly, grabbing the class's attention. He handed out sheet music and invited the group to get up. They did so, and huddle in their normally cluttered group. Quinn hung back and Rachel seemed to as well, so they both made the best of that coincidence.

"Here," Quinn whispered, eyes averted, as she handed Rachel the folded up note on pink lined paper.

"What is this for?"

"Just take it, okay? And don't ask me what it's for when you can read it, Berry." There it was again, those harbored, angry feelings towards Rachel.

"Alright, Quinn," Rachel hurried, backing away.

"Wait," Quinn practically yelped as much as was possible to do in a whisper. "Read it here."

"I have to help the group by adding my vocal talent, and I feel it is necessary to our—"

"Rachel. Just do it." Quinn nearly stared Rachel down. Accepting Rachel's intimidated nod, Quinn joined the rest of the Glee clubbers, easily picking up where they were. No one seemed to notice her absence, and no one bothered Rachel because she was obviously having a hard time today.

Rachel's hands shook and she unfolded the slip of paper, reading the words that were penned beautifully, albeit sloppily for Quinn. It read: 'Rachel. Please. Meet me after Glee club. I NEED to talk to you. I don't care what you have to say. I NEED this, okay? Just… do it. Please.'

Rachel folded up the paper again and slipped it into her pocket. She chimed into the song with a held back force, not wanting to be in the spotlight.

Quinn had watched Rachel read it and she was horribly worried Rachel wouldn't come. Now, there was only one way to find out.

* * *

"Rehearsal" was over at last, and Quinn's heart was pounding. She couldn't place the last time she'd been this nervous, but it was exhilarating. She tapped her fingers anxiously on the piano and tried to not to look agitated when a minute passed and Rachel didn't show up. Another minute. Two more.

Finally, Quinn heard the door open ever so quietly, and was relieved beyond belief to see Rachel standing there. She knew better than to rush over and hug Rachel immediately, as things were rocky between them.

"So…" Rachel spoke, at a loss of how to start this conversation, which was rare.

Quinn walked over to Rachel and stood over her. "Why'd you do that to me?"

"Do what?"

"Completely ignore me like I ignore you."

"Can't handle your own treatment?"

"That's not the point here, Rachel."

Rachel quivered barely at her name being said, and Quinn caught it. "Then what is?"

"Did yesterday not happen or something? Fill me in here, 'cause I'm totally lost."

Oh. Yesterday. That was going to be a touchy subject. "No, it.. it did most definitely happen, but… and I'm not sure how you have yet to understand this, but you humiliated me in front of the entire Glee club."

"I apologized."

"You dropped me."

"You're gorgeous."

Quinn stared Rachel down effectively. She had to make the brunette understand somehow. "I didn't plan on telling you this soon, or ever, for that matter, but I dropped you because I never…"

"Yes?"

"I never realized how wonderful you are."

"I still don't see that as an acceptable excuse to drop me."

"Take me to your locker."

"What?"

"Let's go," Quinn insisted, pulling Rachel with her arm. Quinn knew where Rachel's locker was well enough and waited for her to open it. It took several hesitant glances back at Quinn, but she got it open.

"See?" Quinn asked, pointing at the pseudo-wall that was mostly blank after yesterday. "You're so stupid sometimes, Rachel." She sighed and reached into the girl's locker, pulling out the star and mirror and tacking them back into place. "Don't be so stubbornly doubtful about yourself. It really isn't as attractive as you think."

"Attractive?" Rachel's voice squeaked.

"Yes. You're damn gorgeous and you don't have the guts to realize it." Somehow, Quinn was going to make her see that. "_That's_ what I've been trying to talk to you about. Well, that and yesterday."

"Yesterday was a moment of weakness on my part, though you had a firm hand in causing major disappointment in my life."

"Major disappointment? That's a bit dramatic, don't you think? Even for you."

"No, Quinn, it's not. I'm going to say this straight out and you can laugh or run away or slushie me for the rest of my life or—"

"Just say it," Quinn groaned. This girl had such a problem of providing information that no one asked for.

"I like you, Quinn." Rachel knew that she just made the understatement of the year. She was head over heels, madly in love with the girl who made it a personal goal to torture her endlessly.

"Well, that wasn't so weird. I like you, too, as weird as that sounds. Otherwise I wouldn't have… well, cornered you today. Or now."

"No…" Rachel sighed. "I like-like you, Quinn. As more than a friend, even though I know that's not what I am to you…"

Quinn's face flushed a light pink color and she had butterflies in her stomach. She stepped forward and pulled the brunette into a warm embrace. Rachel faltered, but she returned the gesture. "I'm sorry Quinn," she murmured, her voice shaking.

"I know," Quinn soothed, stroking Rachel's silky soft long brown hair. She rested her head on Rachel's, as they had done yesterday, and kissed it gently. "I know."


	3. Those Hugs

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: Well, I hope you guys are liking this well enough to keep reading, so here you go. I've updated this fairly quickly, but that may slow down soon, so just a heads up.

* * *

It had been a few days since Quinn and Rachel had, as Rachel called it, "formally made-up." Each girl was similarly confused on their feelings, though more so on Quinn's part. She was harboring emotions she'd never thought possible to have towards a girl. Not the way she was raised, at least. Rachel's admission of _really_ liking Quinn had been a bit… shall we say "new" for her, but Quinn wasn't pushing the brunette away and ordering her a slushie facial like she would have before their intimate moments together. It seemed that, in each girl's moment of weakness, she didn't care who she opened up to, as long as she was accepted. So neither girl had backed away.

Rachel was glad to have finally gotten it off her chest that she liked Quinn Fabray. And, to her relief, she had told Quinn, instead of someone else who would tell Quinn without her permission. She hoped something, anything, would happen with Quinn so that Rachel wouldn't be so afraid anymore. Despite what they'd gone through the last few days, she had to admit, Quinn had the power to completely destroy her in a second, and that was fairly frightening.

The two had become accustomed to greetings and hugs, though the latter was done in private. Nothing else had developed quite yet, but Rachel was patient. After all, getting pregnant and dating boys all this time hadn't exactly prepared Quinn for a girl-crush.

Nonetheless, Rachel went about her days like any other, always bracing herself for a slushie to the face. She opened her locker, just a few away from Quinn's locker though she hadn't yet gotten there, and quirked her head as something fell out of it. No doubt it was another prank. Except, she realized it wasn't one. It was a note on a ragged piece of pink, lined paper. It featured a phone number, "Call Me," and a smiley face. Rachel's heart soared, as she knew who had written that little slip of information. Quinn had never given Rachel her number, and she'd been somewhat embarrassed to ask for it herself. Scare Quinn away with uncalled for advances? No thanks. But, now, Rachel had Quinn's phone number, and she rushed to save it into her phone. Now if only she could convince Quinn to let her take a picture…

Rachel looked into her mirror (which was good for watching action behind her) and saw Quinn at her locker, just a few down. Both girls smiled, and upon seeing Rachel smile, too, Quinn grinned. The hallway was pretty empty, so Quinn shut her locker, approached Rachel, and hugged her from behind, squeezing her a little for good measure. The two girls grinned. Friendship sure was nice.

"I see you're pretty happy about something," Quinn hinted, a smirk fighting her grin for dominance of her features.

Rachel nodded and intertwined her fingers with Quinn's, their hands around Rachel's mid-section. "Thank you, Quinn," she spoke, laughing a bit. "Really."

"You're welcome. And you could've asked, you know," the blonde teased, untangling their hands form one another, and drifting away from Rachel's locker.

Rachel didn't reply, though she almost grabbed Quinn's hand tighter when she watched her fade away. She glanced in the mirror, then down at her now free hands. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gazed at Quinn's figure in the mirror, walking away and leaving Miss Berry in a haze.

* * *

Quinn was exhausted after a long day of Cheerios practice, followed by the ever-tiring school day. Seeing Rachel's face light up when she found Quinn's note in her locker was probably the highlight of her entire day. She loved the way Rachel smiled, but she tried to insist it was in a platonic way only. She was simply appreciating a feature on another woman. That was it. But then, those hugs… Rachel felt so right.

Luckily, all both Quinn and Rachel had left to conquer of the school day was Glee.

Now that things were friendlier between the girls, they sat a little closer to each other than any previous times, albeit only one seat closer on each side. There were still 5 or 6 chairs and an entire row separating them. It wasn't quite so easy to give Quinn discreet smiles and sly looks when Rachel had to look behind her to do so, making it painfully obvious, but she tried.

Mr. Schuester pulled all the students up after a while for an impromptu song, led by him. The whole group clapped and cheered, adding in their own background track. Swaying and dancing, everyone was having a blast and getting caught up in the moment. Rachel was shifting to the beat as much as everyone else, until a delicate pale hand slipped around her waist. Of course, Quinn's other hand was around Puck, like nothing was out of the ordinary. After all, Rachel's second hand was in Finn's. Quinn smiled and bumped Rachel lightly with her hips. She was teasing the brunette, and they both knew it. The girl returned the gesture just as playfully and squeezed Quinn close to her before letting her go as Finn pulled her towards the front of the group to watch Mr. Schue dance.

Everyone grinned from ear to ear as they sang, but Rachel wanted nothing more than to have Quinn, and only Quinn, at her side. She was aware of her feelings for Quinn. Brutally aware, in fact. So much that it hurt when she didn't see that beautifully carved face, accented by golden blonde locks that cascaded down her shoulders. She had to act like nothing was abnormal, all this time, and continued it by staring up with sympathetic admiration at Finn, her… well, Rachel didn't know what. They'd broken up, but he didn't seem to get that. Though, not that it eased her suffering, Quinn was in a similar position with Puck. Neither girl wanted the boy that wanted them so badly.

The song Schue had been belting wound down until it was finished altogether and all the Glee kids smiled and joined each other in panting and laughing from the joy of their performance.

"That's a wrap, guys! See you all tomorrow!"

They all grinned and patted Schue on their way out. Awkwardly saying her goodbyes to her friends, Quinn hung back by the door, hoping to catch Rachel, who was always first to arrive and last to leave. "Rachel," she said as the girl brushed past.

"Hey, wait up! Rachel!"

Rachel had been so focused and caught up in a medley of frustrating thoughts, revolving around Quinn unsurprisingly, that she hadn't heard Quinn at first. "Qui—!Oh! Hi. Sorry, I was thinking and didn't happen to notice that you were calling me." She tucked her hair behind hear ear and smiled up at the blonde. "What's up?"

Quinn smirked at Rachel in amusement. Her hand had no trouble finding the tan one it searched for, lacing their fingers warmly. "It's fine, and nothing, really. I miss staying after school with you, I guess. But it is better when you're not crying because I was bitchy to you."

"I have learned to toughen my defenses against your pent up rage and barrage of insults," Rachel pointed out.

"Sure. Whatever. Still, I miss being in the hallways with you. Spending alone time- or whatever you wanna call it- with you. It sucks having to play a role in your own life, you know?"

Rachel nodded and followed Quinn as the girl led them down an empty and fairly dark hallway. Rachel knew precisely how much it sucked to have to pretend things. They seemed to be headed towards the cafeteria, but the brunette only hoped they were going somewhere else, because… _Really?_ she thought. _The cafeteria? Of all the places to be alone in the school, Quinn Fabray had picked the cafeteria?_ The thoughts were baffling. Why on earth would they be going there? _Stupid Quinn._ In the moment it took to think it, Rachel took it back with all her heart. She was just confused.

"Come on," Quinn whispered. It sounded magnified in the silent hallways of McKinley High. The same places where Quinn used to be HBIC and mortify the girl now by her side, who used to wear a slushie every morning. She led the brunette into the cafeteria, confirming Rachel's suspicions.

"Quinn—"

"Shh," Quinn hissed as she pulled Rachel like an over-excited kid with a lost and confused puppy on Christmas Day. The blonde was simply radiating.

Rachel noticed the glow Quinn had and had to bite her cheek in order not to pounce her then and there. Her lips just looked so inviting… Breathtaking could barely describe Quinn right then.

"Rachel? Rachellll," Quinn enunciated, trying to pry the brunette from her thoughts. "Look." Quinn gestured to the cafeteria, which looked eerie and deserted, with her free hand. "You know, I used to come here a lot when I was really stressed out. I was too chicken to stay stuck in the bathrooms, in case I somehow got locked in overnight."

Rachel giggled and nodded, squeezing Quinn's hand encouragingly.

"I used to just come in here after school hours and just _cry._ I guess that's all I really knew how to do at the time. I wasn't used to not getting my way, and being pregnant and kicked off the Cheerios didn't exactly rectify my feelings." She finished her admission, feeling like she owed it to Rachel, and pulled her into the back room of the cafeteria, near where all the food was prepared—prepared, not made.

"Oh, Quinn," Rachel sighed, jerking herself against the blonde and encasing her in loving warmth. So many feelings washed over her that she found it extremely difficult to let go. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Quinn replied. That was the last thing she wanted to hear from Rachel, especially in their current predicament.

"No, really, Quinn, I-I'm so, _so_ sorry." Rachel shook her head against the fabric beneath her and cried. "I hope you can forgive me," she muttered, alluding to something beyond Quinn's mental grasp.

Rachel had lost control of herself, and she was going for it. Hardly thinking anymore, she stood on her tip-toes and pulled Quinn's face gently down to hers, and kissed her.

Quinn was shocked, as she hadn't even time to get her words out, but she didn't hesitate for a moment. The next thing she knew, she was throwing herself into the kiss with full-force. One hand entangled in the brunette's long, gorgeous hair, and the other at the small of her back, Quinn pressed Rachel tighter to her than was probably humanly possible. Her entire body shook and she released all her pent up feelings of rage, sadness, guilt, longing, and with them, her hormones.

Rachel's chest was heaving. Their gasps and kisses were amplified much louder than she'd thought was possible, and she was frightened someone would catch them, even though school was closed. However, she was overjoyed that Quinn held so much passion and was unleashing it onto their kiss. Soon, Rachel was pressed up against the wall, clinging to Quinn for assurance and proximity, and more importantly, so she didn't collapse, as she couldn't feel her knees, while the blonde's hands explored the smaller girl's frame. She felt herself sinking under Quinn's passionate force.

Not long after, Quinn was straddling Rachel and not even resisting any advancements of any sort. Quinn grinned seductively as she began to kiss and suck on Rachel's neck. The girl under the blonde quivered from the intense feelings coming over her.

"Q-Quinn," she breathed, the echoey room making it sound as if she was screaming.

"Hmm?" Quinn didn't stop going after Rachel.

"Q-Quinn, please, please Quinn, l-let me up. Quinn!" she pleaded, whimpering. As much as she wanted their antics to continue, it was hardly appropriate, and Rachel wasn't ready to be there so soon.

Quinn noticed the urgency in the brunette's tone, so she stopped to stare at her, head tilted in interrogation.

"I- We- Quinn," Rachel panted.

Quinn took a moment to observe her surroundings and their considerably awkward-to-explain manner of sitting, and she dismounted. "I'm sorry," she coughed, her voice shaky and uncontrollable as Rachel's.

"No, it's okay… I just… Quinn." Rachel let out a heavy breath and leaned against the blonde next to her. Pale arms wrapped around the tan girl's waist and kissed her neck softly.

"Rachel."

"We…" She began to say something and shivered, curling into her friend. "Quinn…" The brunette was at a loss for words, but that was absolutely fine with the both of them.

Quinn thought about their entire act and smirked. Rachel frowned, though a smile danced at the corner of her lips.

_So those hugs weren't enough for her either,_ each girl thought.

"Quinn."

"Yes?"

"…Do you have feelings for me? Like, like I have for you?"

"Well, we did just kind of make-out, did we not?"

"Well, you did kind of get pregnant and make-out before then, did you not?"

Quinn sighed and pressed a kiss in the hollow behind Rachel's earlobe, which elicited a satisfying twitch from Rachel. "I did. And we just did."

Rachel still looked up at her, her eyes wide and nearly wet with tears.

"….Fine. Okay. I have feelings for you. Maybe not on a dating scale, but…" Dating scale? With a girl? It all seemed so foreign to her.

"I see. So you'd like to be pregnant before we're considered 'dating level?'"

Quinn snorted, she was laughing so hard at Rachel's little digs, despite the pout it received from Rachel. "Touché. I'm just not sure how I feel about… _that,_ yet. Maybe in time? I'm sorry, Rach." She'd finally called Rachel 'Rach.' She'd been meaning to for a long time (it was impeccably cute to Quinn), but she couldn't find the right moment to break it out.

Rachel snuggled against Quinn, fitting perfectly where her baby bump used to be. Quinn trailed light, airy kisses along Rachel's neck and collarbone quietly, indulging in the moment, even if Rachel was anxious to talk about what this meant for their relationship.

"I didn't know you felt like this, Quinn…"

"Being pregnant does a lot to a girl, I guess."

Rachel picked up on the blonde's implication and averted her eyes to her own hands. "Oh. I-I see."

"Not like that," Quinn whispered, laughing a bit. Leave it to Rachel to put herself down when it was least convenient for everyone involved.

"Oh," Rachel returned, understanding now that it was partially said to lighten the mood.

"Rachel, you're strong, you know that?"

"Quinn," she rushed to say. "I-I nearly fell at your feet in pleasure—I wouldn't call that _strong._"

Quinn pulled Rachel tight against her and ensured she felt safe. "You could've, you know. I would have caught you this time."


	4. A Neon Sign

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: It's finally getting somewhere, I think. I liked writing this one, though I nearly hit a wall several times. Anyway, here you guys go, and please review!

* * *

A week had passed since Rachel and Quinn's shared moment in the back of the cafeteria. Needless to say, it was all the girls had been able to focus on; no matter how hard they tried to suppress their strong feelings towards one another. Still, Quinn was hesitant in taking it to the next step: dating. She was well aware that it would make her mother squirm uncomfortably at the mere mention of Rachel if they went to that level. And, honestly, Quinn would rather have a mother who wasn't utterly grossed out by the idea of her girlfriend. _That is, _if_ I have one,_ she told herself in slight regret. She figured the Glee kids would mostly be supportive, since Kurt was gay and everything, but she knew Santana wouldn't let her live it down. She was as much a bully as Quinn had ever been, except that Santana hadn't stopped and seen the wrong in what they did. The blonde Cheerio still had to listen each day as her friends insulted Rachel, lacking the guts to stand up to them. She made her little protests, however, without letting on too much. For, as badly as Quinn wanted to pour her heart out to Rachel and stand by her day and night, she was just not ready to make that commitment. She needed her adjustment period, even if Rachel was horribly impatient about it.

Rachel, on the other hand, had gotten up the nerve to call Quinn only once since their kiss. It was a nice call, and they talked about the little things like school, family, and homework. Neither had much drama revolving around them, outside of their minuscule romance, which was drama that both were hesitant to speak about. They felt more open and willing at school to do whatever they pleased when it was just them, but each girl was going through new emotions and yearnings, and talking about it wasn't the best option. But, then again…

Rachel picked up her pink, Bedazzled cell phone and pulled up Quinn's number from her contact list. She had yet to get a photo for her spot in the contacts list. Gathering her courage, she hit the "Call" option and hung up as soon as the dialing had started, for what felt like the 900th time that night. She pushed her hair out of her face and tried again. This time, she lasted until she heard Quinn answer it.

"Quinn Fabray," she spoke, irritation spewing out of her tone that was fairly drawn out, even for Quinn.

"Q-Quinn?" Rachel was cautious in how she approached the obviously upset cheerleader.

"Rachel? Rachel! Oh, hey! Sorry, I didn't check who was calling. I've been getting so many solicitors lately that I totally forgot that actual people with actual names that I cared to remember might call. So, what's up?" Quinn flopped onto her bed, and began to flip through a magazine.

Rachel didn't realize, until Quinn explained, that she was expecting to be hung up on, like what would have happened anytime before these last few weeks. "I… I'm glad to know that—Well, that is, not that so many marketers are pestering you endlessly, but…" she trailed off, not sure what she was getting at.

Quinn laughed on the other end of the phone, much to Rachel's relief. "It's okay, chill out, Rachel. Breathe."

She did, and she let out a heavy, frustrated breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in. "I'm sorry, Quinn."

"For what?" she asked easily as she turned the pages of the magazine, pretending something other than Rachel Berry could hold her interest for _some_ amount of time. But, really, the attempt was futile and the thought ridiculously laughable. She faked it, anyway, as if someone cared that she kept reading it.

"For, well, you know," Rachel said, her voice but a whisper by the end, hinting at something they both knew quite well.

"Rachel," Quinn groaned. She threw the magazine onto the floor in exasperation. Not the dating issue again. "Look, Rachel, I accept your apology, but that doesn't mean we're ready to," the blonde looked towards her door to make sure it was securely closed, with no chance of her being heard, "_date_."

"Date? Quinn, I'll have you know that's not at all what I referring to. I am fully aware of your standpoint on our relationship, and have decided to push it no further. Or, at least, not right now. I was talking about last week. When we…"

"Kissed? If you're gonna say it, then say it."

"Yes. When we kissed."

"Well, I don't see why you're sorry." Quinn stared at her ceiling like it was supposed to be the most interesting artifact known to man. Distracting herself wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. Not with an adorable brunette on the other end of her phone, anyway. _It's better than having this conversation in person,_ she decided.

"You don't think it was wrong to do it? Or… Or hated me for it? I-I wasn't bad, was I? I don't have much experience at excelling in a romantic situation, you see. I tend to make the other person run away or desert me when I try. Or, somehow, everything doesn't work out like it should. And, lately, I've been wondering if it was becau—"

"Rachel," Quinn interrupted, finally getting her to shut up after the fifth time Quinn had called her name.

"Y-Yes?"

"You talk too much."

"I know," Rachel sighed. One of her many problems.

"Listen. You were fine. Well, great. Okay, it was damn fantastic, but whichever… _wording_ you like best, be satisfied with it because you really should stop worrying about these things."

Rachel grinned, glad, for once, that Quinn couldn't see it. Because, though her smile was an admittedly radiant one, her face was also flushed beyond comfort. "R-Really? Then why—"

I don't know," Quinn muttered. "I'm not some hormonal teenage boy, Rach. I wouldn't know why they dumped you. Besides, it's their loss, I say."

"Well, Quinn, while you're right that you most definitely are not of the male gender, you _are_ a teenager, and you _are_ arguably hormonal, and you can't blame it on being pregnant anymore."

Quinn giggled lightly, but she hoped the brunette didn't pick up on it. Which, of course, she did, but that was beside the point. "What can I say? I'm crazy for you, Berry," she teased, playing with the girl's last name in a kinder tone than Rachel was used to hearing it said.

"Thanks, Quinn." Rachel moved from sitting on her bed to laying down, cradling the phone against her ear. "I sincerely mean it. You mean a lot to me, and, even if you aren't ready to make our more affectionate relationship known to anyone yet, I don't want to lose you as a friend. I hope you know and understand this."

"You couldn't make it clearer if it was on a neon sign. And, honestly, you're welcome, though I regret being so mean to you before. Clearly, you forgave me, I know, but that doesn't change my guilt, you know?"

Rachel nodded, knowing Quinn tended to end her sentences in the form of questions, tacking "you know?" onto the end of whatever she'd said. It seemed that when it came to their friendship, Quinn truly did need the assurance, and it wasn't just a habit of speech anymore. "Yes, but I know you're through acting that way, and I need you. A lot. More than I'd ever thought possible…"

"Slow down, Rachel," Quinn commented. "Don't dive into the shallow end of the pool, okay? Neither of us are totally up to that, and we'll both end up breaking ourselves if we try to do anything more. You know that."

"Yes. I do."

"Okay, then," Quinn breathed easily. She stopped picking at the sheet on her bed long enough to return her magazine to its former place and resume reading where she'd left off. The hard part was over now, since Rachel's feelings were always the most difficult to discuss and sort out. Now that it was finished and mended well enough, they feel into small talk as they had during their last phone call.

Rachel ended their current phone call with a disappointed expression. Quinn had to go to dinner, and, as petty and absurd it was, it upset Rachel to have to let her go. She felt like the blonde shouldn't have had to leave and was supposed to stay on the phone with her into the wee morning hours and undoubtedly run up both their phone bills.

The next day, lunch rolled around and Rachel was sitting outside on the steps, eating her lunch from her lunchbag. Nowadays, she found it made her queasy to eat in the same room as the area her and Quinn had wrongfully violated. Quinn didn't think of it that way at all and hardly noticed that the two were one in the same, but she knew how it troubled Rachel. Moments later, Quinn appeared empty-handed in the doorway, proceeding to sit extra close to the brunette already seated on the cement. She had already eaten and Rachel could tell, since she wasn't eyeing the food she ate like usually. Lunches from home really were much tastier than school food.

Quinn slipped an arm around Rachel's waist and leaned her head against the other girl's, smiling contently. There was a warm breeze gently blowing, but Rachel knew the tingling sensation that was flooding through her wasn't initiated by a silly old guest of wind. It was the way Quinn touched her and held her, the entire encounter joyful in itself. She loved having Quinn around, whether or not they were openly feeling anything for each other. It still proved a problem, combining hidden emotions with the stress of school, but they held themselves together fairly well.

"Having fun out here by yourself?"

"No," Rachel sighed. "I don't feel like I can be anywhere else though," she mumbled, leaning against Quinn for her support.

Quinn rubbed Rachel's side tenderly, letting her know everything was perfectly fine. "Well, good, because it doesn't matter now, now does it?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Rach, if you never go in there again you're going to have a hard time doing it when it becomes important to. Over half the kids in there don't even notice you're gone." _Wow, way to boost her confidence,_ Quinn thought angrily to herself. "I mean, well, just try soon, okay? You can't avoid your friends in there because then you'll only see them and Glee, which may not last forever."

Rachel saw the truth in the matter of Glee; they didn't have an inkling as to when it would end. They were taking each moment of its continuance in stride, so to speak.

"You want a bite?"

Quinn glanced down, out of her own thoughts, to see Rachel offering her a spoonful of pudding. It wasn't often Rachel ate sugary treats with her lunch, unless she was down. And little did Quinn know she had a couple cookies stuffed away in her bag, too. She was struggling with the "connecting with other people" thing when she knew she had to resist temptation and give people space. All of which she wasn't used to in the slightest. Sure, once in a while Rachel would have a fit at Finn, due to his "Mailman" problem and the fact that Rachel had unquenched desires that she had made prominent during a celibacy meeting, but never had she fought and urges like Puck and Finn did. Now she knew how flustered having a relationship was when she wasn't in control of the decisions.

"Sure," Quinn finally managed. She felt pitiful for making Rachel the way she was now, but she cared for the girl more than anyone else. She leaned down and ate the pudding, licking the rest of it off the corners of her mouth.

Rachel smiled up at her and dipped the spoon back into the cup for another bite, this time taking it herself. She swallowed hard and felt quite odd, like someone was watching her. Someone other than Quinn. She hurriedly looked around and didn't notice when Quinn followed suit. The two peered around the parking lot furiously, knowing anyone could hide behind a car and stay hidden.

"I'll kill 'em," Quinn growled.

"_Who?_"

"I-… I don't know, whoever the heck is staring at us," she shot back.

"Quinn, let it go." Rachel quickly packed things messily away into her lunchbag and grabbed it. "Come on, don't give them the satisfaction." She stood and tried to grasp Quinn's hand and tug her with.

"Bastards," she hissed as she let herself obediently follow her friend back into the hallways of McKinley High, their hands tightly woven. Quinn could feel herself calming down measurably, just from Rachel's comforting touch.

"Why would someone do that?"

"Because there are stupid people who find sick pleasure out of watching others being intimate."

"That was intimate?" Rachel hadn't known.

"Yes. Er, no. I'm not sure, but it irked me either way."

Rachel led them to their lockers and she stood at Quinn's patiently as the blonde gathered her things irritably.

"Do you think the person was spying on us for some reason?"

Quinn shrugged as she put on her lip gloss. Twisting the cap back into place, she faced Rachel. "That's my best guess. Maybe not spying, but definitely watching us. It's freaking creepy. Come one." She shut her locker and dragged the brunette with her towards the auditorium.

"Do you think it was Finn? Maybe he did it to see what I was doing talking to someone like you…"

"I doubt it. He's too dumb to think about even checking on you; since you've made it clear you need your space sometimes."

"I suppose that's true. Do you think we might have imagined it?"

"No, Rachel. I just know someone was there, okay? And I have a sneaking suspicion as to who exactly it was.

"Who?"

"I'd rather not say," Quinn answered, pursing her lips.

A fuming Santana Lopez watched in disgust as Quinn and Rachel walked down the hallway hand in hand. She whipped around to Puck, slapping him on the arm with blunt force.

"You _idiot,_" she practically screeched. "You just had to blow our cover, didn't you? Now they think something's up."

Puck shrugged, rubbing his arm a bit from the sting. "Whatever. We'll do it better next time. It's not like Rachel's got a clue."

"But Quinn does. She's not as stupid as you are, Puckerman."

"What's got your panties in a bunch? If you're wearing any, that is. Besides, I don't see why this is so important to you. If they've got somethin' going on, who cares? It's hot."

Santana rolled her eyes and punched his arm this time. "She's not going to last long once we get the dirt, so knock it off." She began to walk away when Puck caught up to her.

"Wait, Rachel, or Quinn? 'Cause, you know, Quinn's my baby mama, and, well, Rachel's a fellow Jew. That's not really cool to do to them."

"Quinn. Rachel. Both. I don't care. Screw them for all their worth."

"_That's_ no use. Trust me, I've tried."

"Get your ass up here, Puckerman. We're gonna go talk to Kurt and Mercedes."

"What's the point in that?"

"_Hello_, they're pretty much Glee Club's own 'Gossip Central.' If you want to know something about anyone in Glee, you go to them. I swear, you make me wonder if there really is anything useful going on in that pea brain of yours."


	5. Get In the Car

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: Okay, so some of you guys were wondering what was up with Santana in the last chapter. The thing is, her character is part of the reason I hit a wall a few times with that chapter. Her character doesn't like my muse, and vice-versa. Hopefully I improved a little with this one. Sorry if I disappointed any of you in the way I portrayed her, but she's a challenge for me, and I hope to do better. Keep reading and reviewing :)

* * *

Later on in the day, after Glee club was over, Santana and Puck caught up with Kurt and Mercedes.

"Hey, we wanna talk to you guys about something. Want you to find out the scoop about something. You in?"

Mercedes shrugged, not knowing what she was getting into. "I'm down. You cool with that, Kurt?"

"I don't see why not," he replied earnestly.

"Look," Puck stepped in. "I'm not a part of this. I got dragged here by her, so I'm gonna say right now that I don't want my name attached to this. It's not my problem and I don't really like this, but whatever."

Santana rolled her eyes, Kurt looked at Puck strangely, and Mercedes laughed. "Sure, sure, Puck."

"Here's the deal," Santana piped in. "You do what we say, and no one gets hurt."

"Well, we have to know what we're scopin' out, don't we? Get on with it, girl."

"It's Quinn and Rachel."

Mercedes burst out in laughter. It had been a long time since anyone put their names together in a sentence that didn't have negative words included.

"We think," Santana began, focusing the black girl's attention once more.

"_She_ thinks," Puck corrected.

"Oh, what_ever._ It doesn't matter."

"Okay, okay. What about them do we need to hunt down, exactly?"

"Investigate is more accurate. We think they've got something going on."

"If you think they're planning the destruction of the world, then good luck getting us to prove that one."

"No, something, as in a thing. A thing for each other."

The silence was overwhelming as Mercedes and Kurt conveyed thoughts through mere glances.

"Ya'll are crazy. Why do you even care, anyway? Quinn and Rachel aren't that bad."

"Man-Hands? That's just gross. Quinn's not gay. And we'll see what Ms. Sylvester's got to say about her so-called "reformed" ex-head cheerleader."

"Santana, that's pretty rough, don't'cha think? I mean, sure, Quinn was pretty bad, but so are you. And I don't see why you want her kicked off for being gay… Aren't you supposed to be her friend? I don't think that's very friendly, but we'll see what's up, I guess. No guarantees though."

"Yeah, yeah, just get it done." With that Santana spun around and left.

Kurt and Mercedes stared at one another and rolled their eyes. "Santana needs to back off Quinn. She's making a big deal and bein' a big hypocrite. We all know how she is with Brittany."

Kurt sighed and fixed his hair in a nearby mirror. "I agree. Maybe it's PMS." Like Kurt knew anything about that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rachel and Quinn were both standing by Quinn's car, with Rachel's not too far away.

"You want me to take you home?" Quinn asked. Rachel was watching everything around her as if she was the last girl alive in a horror film where the killer wins. Lately she'd been jittery and anxious and all around stressed. She didn't feel motivated to work out in the mornings (though she did) and she hardly touched her food throughout her meals, cramming more and more sweet things into her stomach.

"I can drive."

"True, but I'm not sure that you should."

"You're probably right." Rachel sighed in defeat and slid into the passenger seat of Quinn's car. She figured she'd just pick up her own car tomorrow. Or something.

Quinn got into the driver's seat and started the car, using her free hand to massage Rachel's tense shoulder. "Chill out, Rachel. Everything's fine. Who cares if someone knows what's going on between us?"

"You mean what's _not_ going on between us," Rachel retorted bitterly.

They were back to that again, were they? Quinn moved her hand back to the wheel while Rachel stared coldly into the dark world outside the frosty window.

"Way to kill the mood," Quinn muttered.

"Like you're doing any better!"

"You know what, just can it, Berry. No one cares what you have to say. Can't you give someone space? My God," she complained.

Rachel's eyes welled up. Coming from the new Quinn, that remark especially hurt. Since they were at a stoplight and the street was completely empty save for them, she sniffled and gripped the door handle. "Actually, I can. Here, have your _space._" Rachel got out the car and slammed the door shut, walking along the sidewalk towards her house, arms crossed and shivering from her tears and the slightly cold air.

Quinn gaped. She stepped out, too, but only halfway. Her car was still running. "Rachel Berry, get back in this car!"

Rachel acted like she hadn't heard any of what Quinn said to her, which was easy because she was a very good at acting. She kept on down the sidewalk, wiping at her eyes furiously, though the waterworks never ceased.

Quinn growled and slammed her car door shut. When the light turned green, she drove at a pace to match Rachel's, to ensure her safety. Despite their harsh words, Quinn wasn't about to leave Rachel alone to get hurt out in the night. That was a prime time for people to get kidnapped, after all.

And, though Rachel was too stubborn to admit it, she was thankful that Quinn stayed by her throughout her walk home. She absolutely feared being by herself at night, particularly on an empty street.

After a while, Quinn rolled down her window and spoke gently to the tired brunette. "Get in the car, Rach."

Finally, to Quinn's relief, she did.

* * *

That night, Rachel contemplated calling Quinn, but wondered if the blonde would still be angry at her. She knew what she'd done was stupid, but she'd been told before that she's overdramatic, so maybe that was another one of those times.

When Quinn had pulled up into her driveway, they hadn't even said goodbye. Once Rachel got inside, she didn't want dinner, and she headed up to her room.

Rachel's fathers were concerned by this behavior, and her Daddy went upstairs to try to talk to her. He knocked on the door, making Rachel jump. She recovered soon enough, slipping her cell phone under her pillow. "Y-Yes?" She wiped at her eyes, checking in the mirror to see how she could make them less puffy and red.

"Can I come in?"

Rachel didn't have to answer; he came in anyway.

"Are you alright?" He sat next to his daughter on the bed.

Was she alright? Did she _look_ alright? "No," she sighed. "I'm having girl problems."

"Oh," her Daddy managed. "Well, I know I don't have the same experience as your mother might, but I can try to help…"

"N-Not like that, Daddy," she offered, laughing at the misunderstanding. "I… I'm in love with a girl, and it's bumpy."

"Let me guess, it's Quinn, isn't it?"

Rachel nodded. Quinn had been the only person she'd been talking about for weeks.

"Have you told her how you feel?"

"Yes, and she feels the same way, but she's not ready to date me, and it's driving me up the wall." _Not to mention somebody might have been stalking us,_ she added silently.

"Well, there's not much you can do about that, I'm afraid. But you should be happy that she returned the same feelings that you have."

"On a lesser scale," Rachel pointed out to him.

"But the feelings are there nonetheless." He smiled at his daughter and pulled her in for a hug. He released her carefully and kissed her forehead. "Try not to think about it and get some sleep. You look like you need it." He stood to go, and Rachel waved at him.

"Thanks, Daddy." He did have a point; she should be happy Quinn returned any feelings whatsoever. After all, she figured that their pitiful arguments about forming a tangible relationship were pointless, though Quinn was blatantly trying to make her opinion known to Rachel. And, no matter, how much they fought, they somehow ended up trying to patch things up.

Rachel picked up her cell phone again and fell asleep with it clutched to her chest, debating whether or not to call Quinn.

* * *

The next morning, Rachel had to call Quinn. Her fathers had already gone to work, and her car was still in McKinley's parking lot. Then again, she knew Finn would be more than willing to drive her. Anything to avoid the looming, awkward conversation with Quinn. She dialed Finn's number and hit "Call."

"Hello?" Finn's voice was groggy with sleep.

"Finn?"

"Rachel?"

"I didn't just wake you up, did I?"

"Well, yeah, but, uh, it's okay. What's going on?"

"Finn, you really should learn to wake up earlier."

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed, stumbling around his room to get dressed.

"Anyway, I wanted to know if you could come pick me up and drive me to school."

"Don't you have a car?" He didn't even think that she would take it as a rejection. He was woefully tired and beginning to forget their conversation.

"Yes, just not in my possession right now. A… A friend drove me home, and my car is in the McKinley parking lot, so I decided to call you for a favor."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense… Yeah, of course, Rachel. Uh, I'll be right over. But, if you don't mind me asking, how come you don't call whoever drove you home?"

"That wouldn't be the best step to take for me at this point in time, so I hoped you could assist me in getting to school."

"Okay. On my way over."

"Thanks, Finn."

"Uh-huh."

* * *

The car ride with Finn was much more enjoyable than Rachel expected. It felt nice to be with someone and have normal conversations that could completely avoid the stress in her life. She listened to him go on and on about football, while she told him about songs she'd been working on.

"You know, Finn, you should try another solo. As in one that Mr. Schue doesn't have impose upon you." She smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I should. I don't really have time though. Football's getting pretty intense and Coach has been working us harder and longer than we're used to. Something about "stepping it up." I don't know."

"Is that why you weren't awake until I called you?"

"Yeah, practice was brutal yesterday."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you if you needed your sleep so badly."

"Hey, don't worry about it," he assured her, laughing. "I needed to get up anyway. Besides, I'm happy to do it." He smiled back at Rachel and placed his hand on hers.

Rachel slowly grew worried over his gesture. While it felt wrong, like she was somehow betraying Quinn, at least Finn was showing signs of commitment. Something that the blonde Cheerio seemed to lack. She held his hand respectfully, not allowing any more advances, until they arrived at school.

* * *

Rachel used her free time that day to spend time alone in the auditorium. She sat cross-legged on the stage and swayed to her iPod, singing softly to the song playing. She just wasn't in the mood to blast her sad songs for everyone to hear.

* * *

Quinn's stomach had been twisted in a knot the whole day. She'd screwed up with Rachel yesterday and was feeling the guilt and backlash from it. Earlier that day, Mercedes had seemed really intent on talking to her, so Quinn tried to hold a decent conversation. At last Mercedes got around the small talk.

"How've you and Rachel been getting along?"

"Rachel?" Her gut wrenched at the flood of regret that washed over her once more.

"Yeah. Are you guys friends now? 'Cause I don't know how much drama we can have in Glee until somethin' gets all messed up."

Quinn laughed and bit her lip before nodding. "Yeah, I guess we're friends now. Not great ones, but we're trying. The girl does _not_ like having people hate her."

"And you're just now figuring that out?"

She laughed again. "I don't think I really cared before. Well, before I got pregnant. It kinda changed my view on things, since I got bumped to the bottom of the totem pole. No offense."

"Don't worry about it. We know where we stand, and it's good to see you know, too. Without slushie-ing us."

"Yeah, I'm still pretty sorry about that. Rachel got the worst of it, though."

"Yeah, which is why the girl is so eager to please. Don't break her heart, Quinn. I know you're cool now and everything, but she's been through a lot and she's not as strong as she looks."

Boy, did Quinn know that. "You seem to know a lot about her."

"Yeah, well, once you get past that annoying outside, she's pretty sweet."

"Yeah. She is."

"Alright, well, I gotta go. Bye, Quinn!"

Mercedes walked off, and felt like knocking herself in the head. She had meant to get more out of Quinn, but it was a start.

* * *

Quinn felt horrible. She needed to talk to Rachel, and now. She knew that, if there was one place to find the diva, it was in the auditorium. So that's where Quinn went.

Sure enough, she was right. There was Rachel sitting in the middle of the stage, singing. It was odd not seeing her up and full out blasting her voice into the empty room, but the blonde knew she was upset. It showed.

At the end of a song (and Quinn's deciding to sit in the upper level), Rachel noticed that she had company. She bashfully looked at her lap, then up at Quinn in the seats. "Hey," she spoke.

"Hey," Quinn said, smiling and waving a little.

Rachel waved back for a moment and looked between the stage and the girl. Eventually Quinn got what Rachel was too afraid to ask, and headed towards the stage. She stood above Rachel and smiled, then carefully folded herself into the same position as the brunette. "I'm sorry," Quinn spoke, glad she got that off her chest. "I've been trying to tell you that all day."

Rachel nodded and twiddled her thumbs before scooting close to the Cheerio and wrapping her arms around the blonde's stomach and resting her head on the girl's shoulder."I love you, Quinn," she whispered.

Quinn tensed and stroked Rachel's hair as a distraction. She was quick to learn that doing that was a very _bad_ distraction, but she never stopped. "Rach," she began tiredly. Did she have to go through this again? It was clear that Quinn excelled at breaking Rachel's heart every time she pushed the subject.

"I know," she cut in, in her matter-of-fact tone. "You're not ready. I just… had to tell you how I truly felt." She sighed and snuggled closer to the blonde who still played with her hair.

The girls shifted so that it was more comfortable for the both of them, with Rachel in between Quinn's legs, and Quinn's arm wrapped around her waist. Rachel took to playing with Quinn's fingers happily, like a little girl.

"You actually _love_ me?" She had to ask. It was… unreal, to say the least.

Rachel nodded against the blonde's chest. "Yes. I have for a long time now, though only recently had I come to terms with my emotions. Putting words to feelings, you could say. Which is why it hurt every time we fought. E-Every time you insulted me. A-And…" She had to pause to dab her eyes with her sweater to stop more tears from falling and to make sure she should keep talking.

"Go on," Quinn prompted encouragingly.

"Each time you slushied me. It pained me that much more because I had unrequited feelings for you, and you didn't even want to acknowledge my existence. Yet, you did with the slushies, I guess, but in an uncomfortably negative way."

Quinn flinched ever so lightly at Rachel's recounting of how much distress Quinn had caused her. She always knew she'd been bad to everyone in Glee, but it was a lot different hearing it first-hand from the girl she was inevitably falling for.

"Oh, God, Rachel, I'm _so_ sorry." Quinn pulled her tight against her chest and kissed her hair tenderly. The girls closed their eyes as Quinn swayed them gently.

That was when Kurt and Mercedes walked in.


	6. Maybe You're Magical

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: This was probably my favorite of all the chapters so far, both to read and write. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do, so read and review! :D

* * *

Kurt was about to spit out something about the fashion disaster that was Crocs, until the pair noticed they weren't alone. The exchanged glances and Mercedes leaned over to whisper to Kurt.

"Come on now, that is just _too_ cute."

"Hmm, who knew they really did have a thing for each other?"

"Apparently Santana. Takes one to know one, I guess?"

"Well then," Kurt mused in a hushed tone, suggesting.

"Sorry, Kurt. Girls just aren't my thing."

"Then I suggest you watch your wording," he retorted.

Mercedes just stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes. "Kurt, ya know, though I still don't get why Santana wants us to do this, do you think we should? I mean, look at them. They look, I don't know, perfect or something. Both of 'em seem really happy."

Kurt took a deep breath, contemplating. "Speaking as a fellow gay, that is if they have more than friendship going on down there, I think we should leave it be. Because, really, in high school how many shots do you get?"

Mercedes nodded. She was positive she wanted to leave them be to go about whatever was or was not going on, despite their positions on stage. If Kurt was on board, then it would be much easier to do. "You sure, Kurt?"

"Oh, yes. This is more than enough to prove something, I assure you."

The two stepped out of the auditorium, but Mercedes hung back. Luckily the girls had been so wrapped up in their little moment that they hadn't noticed that anything was amiss. "We're not gonna tell Santana, are we?"

"Of course not," Kurt scoffed in his very 'Kurt' way, with a flip of his hair to put it into the right spot. He walked off like it was nothing, and Mercedes did the same. Somehow they knew a certain Latina Cheerio was not going to be pleased with their "detective work," or lack thereof.

* * *

At the end of the day, Rachel sunk into the driver's seat of her car. It felt good to be in her own car for a change instead of being driven around by someone else. Quinn walked by, smiling at Rachel as she went. Beautiful, blonde Quinn. Rachel grinned back, and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She opened her door and got out, shutting afterwards.

"Hey, Quinn!"

Quinn looked up at her name being called and smiled brightly. "Hey, Rachel."

Rachel hurried over to Quinn's side. "I wanted to ask you if you'd like to come over to my house today. In our own cars, of course." She folded her arms tightly, though she was happy.

Quinn laughed and Rachel could only hope it was a good thing. "Sure. In our own cars, of course," she mimicked.

The brunette nodded enthusiastically. "You can follow me if you'd like, though I suppose you should know where my house is since you kind of drove me home."

"I know where it is. And even if I hadn't driven you home, think about it, Rachel. This is a small town. I'm sure I could have found your house."

She grinned, nodded, and skipped off to her car.

* * *

The two cars finally parked outside Rachel berry's house and the girls approached the door. Rachel unlocked it and yelled into the house, "Dad! I'm home! I brought Quinn with me, too!"

Rachel's Dad came to the door. "No need to shout, honey, I was only in the kitchen."

Rachel shrugged it off. "Dad, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is my Dad."

Quinn smiled politely and offered a hand. Rachel's Dad wiped his hand clean on the towel her had slung over his shoulder, and shook it welcomingly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Quinn."

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Berry."

Quinn and Rachel proceeded to head upstairs, towards Rachel's room, when the brunette caught raised eyebrows and a wink from her father. Her face reddened and she shook her head miserably. God, she hoped her Dad wouldn't screw this up for her.

Quinn was already inside Rachel's bedroom by the time she quite giving death-glares to her Dad and caught up with the Cheerio. It was strange for Rachel to see Quinn already at home, sitting on Rachel's bed and looking at her surroundings as a whole, clearly intrigued.

"D-Do you like it?" The brunette was getting a bit self-conscious.

"Yeah," Quinn said, like it was obvious. "It's very you."

"Is that a good thing?"

"You tell me." Quinn pondered her statement and then shook her head. "Wait, no, don't tell me. 'Cause you'll insist that it sucks, and I disagree with that."

"I would not use the word "suck," I'll have you know."

Quinn rolled her eyes and laughed, patting the spot on the pristine bed, inviting Rachel to join her. Rachel obliged, and cuddled into Quinn.

"So, you had Finn drive you to school?"

"Yes. Before you wonder why I hadn't called you instead, it was because I felt vulnerable and afraid and very angry at myself for being so rude to you that night that I couldn't get the courage to call you. I thought you'd yell at me or something similar for not just getting in the stupid car when you told me to, when I could have been kidnapped or raped or…or-something else, I don't even know."

Quinn sat there the entire time Rachel defended her actions, slipping her hand into the brunette's tanner one halfway through. Honestly, she couldn't get enough of her little quirks and how she rambled incessantly when she got nervous.

"I wasn't going to make you defend your answer. But it was cute to watch you do it anyway."

"Quinn, that was very unfair," Rachel pouted against Quinn's shoulder, hiding her face that was now flushed.

"I don't see how, but I'll let you think whatever you like in that pretty little head of yours," she teased, tapping a finger on Rachel's forehead for emphasis.

"Fine," she huffed, rolling off her bed. Rachel sat at her desk and scrolled through her computer's iTunes, pretending it was very interesting when all she wanted to do was place kisses _all_ over Quinn. Not only was the blonde gorgeous, but she was funny and sweet, and truly cared for Rachel. If that wasn't enough, the brunette felt like she could hardly smell Quinn's intoxicating scent _and_ tolerate her beautiful smile without doing something about it. Rachel was beginning to really sympathize with Finn and his problems right about now.

"Rach?"

Rachel glanced up to have Quinn's stomach right at her eye level. She blushed, squeezed her eyes tight to regain a normal breathing pattern, and looked up at Quinn's face this time. "Y-Yes?"

She leaned down and whispered, "Your phone is ringing."

Rachel hadn't even noticed that _Supernova_ had begun to play from her pink little cell phone. She rushed to it, not liking to miss a call unless she knew who was trying to call her.

"Hello?"

"Rachel!"

"Oh, Finn! Hi. Do you need something?"

"Well, uh, I was, ya know, kinda wondering if… you had anything going on tonight?"

Rachel glanced towards Quinn to gauge her reaction, which was returned with a smirk. If anything, Quinn was amused and curious as to what Rachel would tell Mr. Hudson. Quinn thought that was quite an appropriate pun to make, considering the brunette's ringtone (which was an odd choice for Rachel), but she decided it could wait. The conversation at hand was _much_ more interesting, as told by the panicked looks that kept flashing across Rahcel's face.

Rachel sat on her bed and played with her hair. "I— Could you hold on for a moment, Finn?"

"Yeah, sure."

Rachel covered the mouthpiece of her phone and motioned for Quinn to come towards her. Quinn did so and the brunette pulled her close to whisper in her ear. "Call your mom."

"Why?" Quinn whispered back, completely baffled.

"You're spending the night." Rachel grinned at the blonde and uncovered the mouthpiece of her cell. "Okay, Finn, I'm back. I'm sorry about making you wait, I had to talk to my dads to see what we had going on tonight." Quinn gave her an intrigued expression and Rachel bit her lip to keep from giggling. "Unfortunately, I'm a bit… tied up tonight. My fathers had planned Family Game Night for tonight."

"Oh," Finn said, nodding his head. He hadn't an idea that her plans were anything but what she had claimed them to be. "Maybe another night? Today's Wednesday… So let's see… Uh, you busy next Friday? Football practice is cancelled that day."

Rachel frowned and pouted at Quinn, hoping the other girl would cast her some kind of idea. Quinn shrugged, not knowing how to help Rachel out of this one. She'd done pretty well with the previous excuse, which was shocking.

"No way out of this one," Quinn snickered heartily, fully aware that Rachel did not enjoy the current situation that was her phone conversation.

"What's that, Rachel?"

"Oh, uh, nope. No way am I busy Friday," she mumbled inarticulately, trying to cover for what Quinn had said. Friday sounds… great."

Finn grinned on the other end. "That's great, Rachel! I'll talk to you later about what we should do. I was thinking bowling, or maybe a movie, if you know of any goo—"

"I have to go, Finn, I apologize." With the last word, Rachel hung up. She threw herself onto her bed with an 'I'm screwed' look on her face.

"Oh. My. God, Rachel. You're a nut-job. You should have just agreed to do something lame with him tonight. I mean, really. _Game Night?_"

"Too late now," she muttered as the blonde came to sit next to her. "Besides, _you're_ sleeping over," she giggled, reaching up to poke Quinn's cute nose.

Quinn twisted her body so that she was still sitting, but now the upper-half of her body was positioned over Rachel, with one hand on each side of her head. She leaned in. "Are you sure you want me to stay?" Quinn smirked; they both knew the answer, but Rachel nodded anyway, visibly tensing under the blonde.

Quinn leaned closer relentlessly. Rachel didn't move, but her breathing came heavier and harder.

"Q-Quinn," she carefully began, trying to warn Quinn that she was not going to be able to stand much more teasing. She was already ready to burst like she had in the cafeteria, even if Quinn was the one who ended up taking over.

"Rachel," she breathed against the brunette's lips. "Stop talking. Just for this once."

The girl under Quinn could only nod before she felt tender lips against her own, and all their passion and desire and love came flooding back like it had never left.

* * *

Rachel lay curled up in bed with Quinn next to her, who was trailing delicate kisses along her neck. She tried to breathe deeply, but that got harder to do as the kisses slipped lower and lower.

Before anything too concerning for either of the girls could happen, there was a knock at Rachel's door. Much whispering came from the girls, as they huddled in Rachel's bathroom, fixing their shirts and skirts and trying to see if their hair looked mussed. Quinn squeezed Rachel's hand as it tried to alter another piece of her hair, albeit anally instead of out of necessity to maintain a cool front.

"Just a sec!" Rachel called out to whichever of her fathers stood patiently outside the door. Patiently? She figured it was Daddy because her Dad was not a very patient person.

Rachel pushed Quinn onto her bed while she hurried to take a seat at her desk, when she said, "Come on in!"

Rachel was right. Her Daddy opened the door and smiled. "Hey Rachel. Oh, Quinn's here, too. Oh, right, Jim told me. Nice to meet you Quinn," he greeted, a bit too preoccupied to properly introduce himself. "Girls, we're having dinner in a few minutes, so we thought we'd invite you down now. Oh, and by the way, Jim's eager to get a rousing game of Monopoly going later tonight, so I decided to see if you girls wanted to join us. That is, if your mother's okay with it, Quinn?"

"Alright, Daddy, we'll be down there in a few minutes." She looked over at Quinn who smiled sweetly at her, with a glint of determination in her eye for some reason. Rachel smiled and nodded. "Tell Dad we'd love to play."

"Actually," Quinn interjected, "I'm spending the night, if that's okay with _you._"

When Rachel's father had agreed to Quinn sleeping over, he shut the door and left. Quinn watched Rachel move about her room in fascination. "Wow, did you call that, or what?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Game Night excuse, proposed Monopoly game? Ring a bell?"

Rachel blushed a little. "I hadn't meant to make it come true."

"Oooo, maybe you're magical," Quinn laughed.

"It's better than being envious," the brunette shot back with a smile.

"Oh really?" Quinn stood up from the bed and locked her arms around Rachel's waist from behind.

"Yes, really," Rachel managed to spit out between arguably heated breaths and mumblings.

Quinn sucked on Rachel's neck devilishly. After a bit, she released the slightly quivering body from her mouth. "Still think so?" she asked, whispering into Rachel's ear, swirling hot air and making Rachel's hair stand on end.

"Y-Yes," she spoke in small, trembling voice.

"Hmm," the blonde pretended to muse. She went back to work on Rachel's neck before moving down to the girl's collarbone and rotated between licking, kissing, sucking, and biting Rachel. All such measure elicited wondrous moans and gasps from Rachel, who made no attempt to escape the blonde's hold. By the time Quinn had finished, she heard the clanking of plates and silverware downstairs.

"We really should get going down there," Quinn pointed out.

Rachel stood shaking in Quinn's arms, unable to move from the spot she'd rooted herself to. Quinn rubbed her hands along Rachel's arms comfortingly.

"C'mon, Rach," she encouraged, keeping one arm around Rachel's waist, just in case her knees should give out and she should fall down the stairs, totally blowing their cover. All the brunette could do was nod and follow obediently, eyes darker than Quinn had ever seen them.

* * *

Dinner went well at the Berry household, with no major incidents. Both Rachel and Quinn had slipped once or twice into too much detail about their relationship, which turned them equally red each time. Mr. and Mr. Berry acted like they hadn't noticed anything, and that was a relief for the girls.

"So, girls," Jim "Dad" began. "What do you two have planned for tonight?"

Rachel shrugged, and Quinn followed. Rachel sort of had to answer it, since Quinn was the guest at their fiasco. "I don't know, maybe watching a movie after we play Monopoly. Nothing's quite planned."

"Hm," Jim acknowledged, though he didn't seem satisfied. "Quinn, I have to warn you before we play Monopoly that you shouldn't expect to win. In fact, expect to lose. Rachel and Alex always do."

"Maybe I'm not as bad at it as they are," Quinn challenged, not having a clue how well Rachel and Alex did or did not play.

"You're on," Jim replied, laughing heartily.

Quinn smiled at him, then at Rachel, who was watching Quinn in awe, a truly beautiful smile plastered on her face throughout the whole dinner.

* * *

After dinner and some nonchalant chatting in the living room, they all sat down to play Monopoly. Quinn was fairly good at this game and it was one of her favorites, so she was super excited to play.

Rachel and Quinn sat next to each other, but Quinn nudged her with her knee, telling the brunette that they were too close to play comfortably. Sitting at the very corner of their "side" of the board would not work out as they wished. Rachel blushed and took her spot amiably.

So the game began. They had rolled dice to see how would go first, second, etc. and it ended up going Jim, Alex, Quinn, then Rachel. Jim had picked the ship, Alex the car, Quinn the little dog, and Rachel the top hat.

The game went on, and Quinn was nearly up to par with Jim. Rachel and Alex were failing miserably, but banter was exchanged all around. Rachel had gotten lucky and landed on one of the dark blue properties, so she bought it. As soon as Quinn got the matching property, she was set on getting Rachel to trade it to her. The brunette was intent on keeping it for herself, not understanding why both her and Jim were so hung up on that particular pair.

"Rachel, it's the best monopoly," Quinn told her for the 50 millionth time since she'd acquired the match to Rachel's card.

Jim and Alex laughed as all Rachel could do was pout and not give a reasonable explanation to say no. This game was so stupid.

"Fine," Rachel gave in. "Here." She held out the property to Quinn, who grinned and snatched it, sticking her tongue out at Jim with a laugh. She was _so_ gonna win.

Quinn placed the property on top of its match and picked up a $500,000 bill and gave it to Rachel. "Here you go."

"I don't want your money," she whined. She wished the game would be over so she could go do something that was worth her time. Though, she kept that complaint to herself because Quinn really was enjoying herself.

"Just take it, Rachel." The blonde slapped the bill into the slot where it was supposed to go with an eye roll and a smile and turned back to the board.

Hours passed, and everyone but Quinn had gone bankrupt. Somehow, she'd managed to own the entire row that consisted of the dark blues and greens and she obtained the yellows, too. She'd built hotels on all the monopolies and it was like a death trap. Needless to say, Rachel was the first out of the game, and Quinn had rubbed her shoulder sympathetically.

"That was fun, thanks Mr. and Mr. Berry."

"It was our pleasure Quinn." Alex.

"You fought a good battle." A laugh and Jim shook her hand in a congratulatory fashion.

After that, Quinn dragged a scowling, displeased Rachel back into the bedroom, saying goodnight to Jim and Alex. The blonde shut the door and laid next to the other girl on the bed.

Quinn grinned and played with Rachel's hair in a flirty manner. She felt the brunette owed her _some_ kind of prize for the amount of ass-whooping that went down in the living room.


	7. Try the Pancakes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: Okay, this one's sort of messy, but it was neccesary in order to get thing moving. Anyway, read and review! :)

* * *

The next morning was a struggle for both Quinn and Rachel. Neither of them wanted to do to school, nor do anything but lay as they were, cuddled in bed together. Eventually, after much complaining and much more whining, they convinced each other to get up and be productive.

They went downstairs to eat a hearty breakfast after Rachel had worked out and Quinn was busy doing last-minute homework. An exuberant Alex cooked them pancakes and they helped themselves to syrup. Quinn even went for some whipped cream. Then she wondered what it'd like to lick that off Rachel… She bit her lip, entertaining this idea.

"Quinn?"

Quinn's head snapped up, away from her pancakes, when her name was called. "Yeah?"

"You should try the pancakes. Whipped cream's good and all, but it'll give you a sugar rush and you'll be dead tired by third period."

Quinn's cheeks turned slightly pink at the realization that she'd eaten all her whipped cream (thinking about Rachel while doing so, of course) and had begun to pile more on. She nodded and ate the pancakes, which were quite good.

* * *

Glee. Rachel was pulling Quinn into the room by the hand. This was their sort of "excuse" to get away with holding hands in front of the Glee kids, since Rachel dragged basically everyone around like that. Quinn was smiling widely and allowing herself to be drug around like a ragdoll.

They took their seats, though they left an empty one between the, presumably for Finn.

"Hey, guys! Great day, isn't it? I feel awesome! Life is just _great!_" Speak of the devil.

"Hey Finn," Rachel spoke with a smile to greet his bright attitude. What was with him, anyway? It was like he was hopped up on Vitamin D all over again.

Sure enough, he took the open seat like it was nothing. Well, actually he took it like it was the greatest honor ever bestowed on him in his life. "Hey there, Rachel! Did you see the birds today? They sang me a song! It was awesome!" Now he was sounding like Brittany.

"Finn, are you okay?"

He nodded and shrugged wildly, nearly hitting Quinn in the face with his monstrous elbow. Both Rachel and Quinn scowled at him, though the brunette had to recover her features. "I'm great! I'm just so excited about our date next week! It's gonna be awesome, Rach!" He grinned and slung an arm around Rachel's shoulders happily, like nothing was amiss and there wasn't a blonde Cheerio next to him who looked just about ready to rip his throat out.

Rachel was forced to suppress something that was a mixture between a groan and a whine. She was beginning to regret agreeing to see him next Friday even more than before. God, she was such a sucker for a sad cause. "Yes, Finn, it will definitely be… memorable," Rachel supplied, swallowing hard. She leaned close to Finn and reached to put her arm around him. It made her feel a little less guilty and comforted Quinn a bit when Rachel rubbed her shoulder. Actually, it relaxed Quinn measurably, but the blonde did frown when the hand was removed to be placed on Finn's shoulder instead.

Santana sat behind them, rolling her eyes and look at Kurt and Mercedes. She was itching to know what they'd found out, if Rachel's little gesture was any indication.

* * *

The second that Glee club was finished, Santana confronted Mercedes, as Kurt had had a diva moment earlier that day and left before Glee was over. Something about Rachel always getting the female solos.

"Did you find anything out or what?"

"Oh, hey, San. Nah, they're just friends. I mean, Quinn cares about her a lot, but we all do, ya know. We're like a family and I guess Q finally gets that and joined in. I just don't think anything _to_ find out."

"…" Santana crossed her arms.

"Rachel's been a rough time, S. Ya just gotta get that her and Quinn are starting to be friends, and we'd all do the same thing in her place. There's nothing more to know. So, do us all a favor, and kinda… let it go, okay?" Mercedes shrugged and patted the Latina's shoulder before going home.

"I get it," she muttered. Santana stood in the hallway, looking around in disbelief. She grabbed Brittany the second the blonde appeared and stormed off into the parking lot. She didn't know whether she was angrier that Mercedes had nothing for her or that she was wrong and had been told to pretty much back off.

* * *

Quinn and Rachel were standing and talking in the parking lot as usual. Mercedes walked by and bumped Rachel's shoulder with a wink, making the small girl blush. Rachel didn't know what it meant but she had an idea. She gave Quinn a thumbs-up as she passed and that was that. Quinn turned to look over her shoulder, but Mercedes paraded on like nothing happened. Quinn laughed and leaned against her car, facing Rachel again. Neither had a clue as to what that was supposed to mean, but it must have been good.

"So," Rachel dragged out as Mercedes's car exited the lot. She reached for Quinn's hand and laced their fingers. "Do you… want to come over again?"

Quinn smiled slyly. "As much as I'd love to, Rach, do you really think I should? You know how it ended up yesterday," she remembered, giggling profusely.

Rachel gaped, fighting a smile, and hurried to cover Quinn's mouth. "Shhh." The brunette tried to make her friend quiet, but then began giggling, too.

They stood in the parking lot, laughing like mad for no apparent reason. Each time they thought they were finished, they would look at each other and start all over again.

"Q-Quinn," Rachel gasped in between laughter.

"W-What?"

"It's getting dark," she mumbled, giggles bubbling inside her.

"O-Oh," the blonde noted and began to control her laughing and breathing. She put her hands on Rachel's shoulders, holding her eyes and inhaling deeply. They did that a few times in synchronization, and were finally able to get a hold of themselves.

"Rachel, we're alone now."

"I know," she said, not sure what Quinn was getting at.

However, the brunette didn't need to solve any puzzles to find out, as Quinn leaned closer and squeezed Rachel's hand, proceeding to kiss her for all she was worth. Which was a _lot._ The blonde slipped a hand up the other girl's back, pressing them together tightly. She broke away when she felt the smaller girl begin to exert her own force.

"That's not too smart," Quinn whispered as she pecked Rachel on the lips, running her hands through the girl's brown locks.

"Mmmm," was all Rachel felt like saying in response as she leaned into Quinn, settling her head on the shoulder of the taller girl.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she murmured, kissing the diva's cheek and setting her on her feet again. Rachel pouted, but nodded and got in her car. Quinn did the same, and both girls went home.

* * *

Later that night, Rachel called Quinn. She didn't answer. Rachel hesitated, but tried the number once again. This time, Quinn picked up.

"Rachel?"

"Hi."

"Hey. What's up?"

"Nothing, really. I guess."

"Okay. What's _really_ up?"

"I'm worried about my get together… er, my date-thing with Finn next week."

"Why? You've been on plenty of dates, especially with him. Trust me; I remember."

"I know, but I don't want to get his hopes up just to have to tell him I'm gay and past-the-point-of-no-return in _love_ with Quinn Fabray, his ex-girlfriend and my ex-enemy."

Quinn rolled her eyes. Even in the most frustrating and inconvenient situations, she could slip musical references into her speech. "Rachel. Calm down. First of all, stop referencing _Phantom of the Opera_. I am not Raul or that other guy, and you are most certainly not Christine. Second of all, we're gonna figure something out, okay? Don't lose your cool over Finn. I mean, honestly. There are better things to worry about."

Rachel rolled her eyes and fought a poignant urge to tell Quinn that "that other guy" was the leading male role in the musical and should be spoken of as such. "We? But it's _my_ problem, Quinn."

"And you called _me,_ Rachel."

The girls sat in silence, each doing something to focus on anything but the girl on the other end, so that she didn't have to break the quiet.

"Look," Quinn started, not being able to stand the empty buzz from their phone connection. Besides, she knew Rachel wasn't about to give in, and she was probably using that to her advantage. "_We_ will figure something out. He's just a stupid boy. Yeah, he's my ex-boyfriend, but you're my…" Quinn wasn't sure how to finish.

"Your friend," Rachel supplied, picking at a thread on her sheet. She still wanted to move past that friendship barrier (as they should), but didn't want to push Quinn to the point where she leaves Rachel alone forever.

"Right."

"So what do we plan on doing to fix this?"

"I hadn't thought that far, seeing how you only voiced your issues with it today."

"Maybe we could call in a favor?"

"_Who,_ Rach?"

Oh, right. They'd been semi-stalked, and they're afraid to move forward and into a tangible relationship, and don't want anyone to know about them. Oh yeah, that's right.

Rachel groaned and smushed her face into the pillow, speaking in incoherent mumbles.

Quinn knew the brunette well enough to know what she was doing. "Rach, get your face out of your stupid pillow."

"Make me," she managed to form while refusing to do so.

"I swear," she muttered. "You want my help? Then get your pretty face out of that damn pillow, or so help me, God, I will come over there and _make_ you do it."

Rachel smiled into her pillow, glad Quinn couldn't see it. She sort of hoped the blonde would come over anyway, though her face was no longer in the fabric cushion. After all, she was still gorgeous, and even more so when she irritated with Rachel.

"Fine," Rachel said, just to let Quinn know she'd done as she was told.

"Good. Now, I'm not sure what we should do because… well, you screwed yourself over like three times last night."

"What? B-But… I got out of the first date."

"And agreed to the second one."

"I played Monopoly, and I hate that game!"

"You also lost, because of which you had to congratulate me."

"I don't see that as a negative thing, Quinn," she laughed. "But what's the third one, then?"

"I'm not going to tell you. And, Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"I totally know how I'm getting you out of this."

"What! What's the plan?"

"I can't tell ya, sorry Rach. Though, let me just say that you totally owe me big time for it. Like, majorly."

"Anything," Rachel agreed. "C-Can't you tell me, though?" Her begging was hopeless, but she tried anyway.

"As much as I'd love to, I can't. Sorry. Night, Rach."

* * *

Rachel was anxious and worried the next day, which was Friday. Only a week until she had to face Finn. That is, unless Quinn came out with her plan. Which was what had the brunette twisted inside out, in fact. Of course, Quinn was able to pick up on her nerves and play off that weakness. It was cruel torture, but both girls loved it in the end.

The day before, Quinn had gotten Rachel to come back into the cafeteria instead of eating alone outside. And she dropped majority of the sweets, too.

_Quinn stood behind Rachel and rubbed her shoulders. "Come on, Rach," she encouraged._

"_I don't know, Quinn, what if they found someone else a-and there's no room at the table for me? Or you? What if there's only one spot?"_

_Quinn laughed and kissed Rachel's nose. "You're fine. It's fine. Everything will be perfectly normal."_

_The brunette nodded and approached the door, letting go of Quinn's hands as always when entering a publicly inhabited room. The Cheerio rolled her eyes playfully and snatched the hand back, dragging Rachel in with her. The girl complied, and the entire lit up to see their star singer back again._

_Finn jumped up and embraced her. Quinn let go reluctantly and joined the other Glee club members, taking her usual spot next to Puck and Santana_

_This is great!" Finn had exclaimed. "You came back! Man, I love life. Isn't life just great, you guys?"_

_The other kids laughed and nodded. He was still peppy and high on life. Too bad Rachel didn't love that anymore._

Now, all the Glee members were seated together again, eating, taking, and laughing loudly. Singing erupted occasionally, and Rachel joined in every time, if she wasn't already leading the bursts of song.

Quinn sat in her usual place at the table and tilted her head the slightest, watching Rachel back in her natural element. It felt good, to see the girl that way again, like nothing had ever happened between them, like Quinn had never dropped her. A pain shot through Quinn at the mere memory, and her stomach lurched. A frown formed, but it slipped into a grin as the thought faded away and every sensation of Rachel washed through her body.

* * *

Rachel and Quinn's newly expressed chemistry was undeniable. They pulled each other everywhere by hand, shared their food, spent half the week at Rachel's house, hugged constantly, sat together in Glee, and couldn't help themselves from looking at or touching one another throughout the day. However, that looming Friday was fast approaching.

And every day they would delay going home for another hour by talking in the empty school parking lot.

"Quinn," Rachel started to get the girl's attention.

"Hm?" Quinn took her eyes away from the stars above them to gaze at the lovely creature next to her.

"Are you coming over tonight? For sure? Because you said you would this weekend and you didn't, so I want to make sure whether you will or will not be visiting my home, so that I may make the correct preparations."

Quinn smiled at the way Rachel elaborated every detail of her life. "Yes, Rach. I'm coming tonight. How many more times do you need to ask? And anyways, you know my mom decided to take me to dinner on a whim. She called it a 'celebration for being such a good girl.'" The blonde laughed. "If she only knew I was kissing Miss Rachel Berry on the side."

Rachel nodded, reassured when Quinn tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'll meet you there then. Promise you'll come?"

"I promise."

* * *

Rachel barged into her house like it was nothing and pulled Quinn along. She didn't bother telling her fathers whenever Quinn came over—it was a common occurrence.

They went into Rachel's room and close the door. The two snuggled as they attempted to work on homework. Unfortunately, it didn't go well. It only frustrated them both. So, they shoved that out of their minds and decided to watch the _Wizard of Oz._ Rachel insisted that, while the movie didn't last long as a musical on Broadway, it _was_ a classic and very much worth her time.

Halfway through the movie, Rachel pushed Quinn away from her gently, who was moving in for a kiss. "I'm watching the movie," she spoke absently, moving around the girl to see the TV. Quinn furrowed her brows. Was she really putting the stupid movie over her? _Total_ turn-off.

Quinn slumped back against Rachel's pillows with a heavy sigh. "You're impossible."

Rachel paused the movie. "Let's work this out now. I'd very much rather have my Oz experience continue undisturbed. It is the precious movie and book that inspired the amazing musical that is _Wicked._ Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Hmm. Yeah, it means nothing. I don't care that much about the movie. I know you do, but I'd rather do something else, personally."

Rachel smiled. "Well. I'm glad we solved our little dispute. Now, please turn your attention to the second half of the movie, uninterrupted."

Quinn groaned and rolled over. She let out an exasperated scream into Rachel's pillow.

* * *

The next morning, Rachel's cell phone rang, and an unfamiliar number came onto the screen. It was one that wasn't in her contacts. "Hello?"

"Listen up, Berry. Just because you have some lezbo thing for Quinn doesn't mean you can steal her out from under us. She hardly even wants to talk to me and B anymore. So lay off and give us our friend back."

"Santana?"

"What, Man-Hands?"

"No."


	8. Don't Be So Melodramatic

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: I kinda slacked on this one, and got it up a bit later than I'd wanted to have it up today, but oh well. Read and review! :)

* * *

Thursday rolled around, and Rachel was waiting on Quinn to tell her how they were going to get her out of her date with Finn. During the school day, the blonde denied every question and plead to tell her.

Finally, the two went home after Glee and each lay on their beds, each twirling their phones anxiously. Quinn was gathering the courage to call, while Rachel was awaiting some kind of anything from the other girl.

Rachel's phone went off as she tossed it up, wincing as she jumped and it smacked her knee. "Ouch," she muttered before flipping her phone open to smile at Quinn's lovely face occupying the screen. "Quinn!"

"You sure are happy."

"Of course. I'm always happy to talk to you."

"Rachel, I need to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Will you do me the honor of going on a date with me tomorrow?"

Rachel's jaw dropped. She didn't know whether to jump around and scream or… well, she had nothing else in mind. Except a return question. "Does this mean…?" she hinted. Excitement was building in her voice.

"Yes. This means I want to be your girlfriend." Quinn grinned and dashed down the steps of her home, in workout clothes, and hopped in her car. She begin backing out before Rachel could even say anything more.

"Yes! Yes, a million times yes, Quinn! I would love to go out with you."

"Good! Now clear your schedule. Tell dorky Finn that you're really sorry but that you got an opportunity you can't afford to miss."

Rachel had nothing else to say. She felt like blasting loud music and singing something obnoxiously loud and high-pitched in between fits of giggles.

"Oh, and Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"Your door's kind of locked."

"...What? Of course it's locked. I don't want to be burglarized."

"Rachel."

"Yes?"

"Get down here and open the door before I kick it in."

"Oh!" Rachel squeaked as she hurried downstairs to open the door. "Quinn, I'm sorry, I hadn't known what you meant!"

Quinn smirked and patted her head, closing her phone shut with her other hand. "Chill out, Rach."

Rachel flipped her phone closed and set it down to hug Quinn tightly. The blonde grinned and returned the gesture, pulling the other girl close and a giving a squeeze before letting go. She leaned back, arms around Rachel's waist and smiled. Then, she pecked the smaller girl on the lips and turned around to head up the stairs. Rachel followed after faltering a moment.

Quinn threw herself comfortably onto Rachel's bed and grinned again. "What now?"

"Well, I'm not sure. You came over here, so I thought you would have had something in mind."

"Of course not," Quinn said, as if that was a perfectly acceptable answer.

"Of course not," Rachel repeated.

"You know, you could call Finn. He should probably have a heads-up before you dump him like an hour before your date."

"I can't dump him if we were never going out in the first place. But you're probably right."

"I know."

"I left my phone downstairs. I'll be right back." Quinn nodded as she left.

The blonde surveyed the room and slipped her hands under the pillow behind her head for the coolness that came from it. Soon Rachel was back, already calling Finn. _This girl does not stop moving, does she?_ Quinn thought to herself as the brunette paced back and forth.

"Rach, you're gonna ruin the carpet. Come here." She stood and grabbed Rachel, forcing her to sit down on the bed. She kissed her neck as Finn picked up.

"Hello?"

"Finn!"

"Rachel! Hey, how's it going?"

"G-Good," Rachel stuttered as Quinn bit her collar bone.

"You sure?"

"Yes," she gulped. "H-How are you?"

"Great! I'm so excited about our date, you know. It really means a lot to me!"

"Oh," Rachel whispered, her voice falling. Why did she have to hurt him like this? It seemed so cruel and unfair to the boy. He had a good heart. She didn't have much time to think, since Quinn kissed her deeply, playing with her hair when it was finished. "Sorry, what?"

"Our… date?"

"Right! Look, Finn, I have to say something." The blonde sucked on her neck, and Rachel had to clench her teeth in order not to moan.

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine! More than fine, in fact. Okay. Finn, I have to cancel on our date tomorrow."

"Oh," he said, making Rachel frown at the way his voice dropped.

The brunette sat there, just grimacing at the silence, but not even thinking enough to break it. This was utterly bitter-sweet. She had the girl of her dreams literally trying to make her hot and bothered, while she also had the sweetest, most goofily honest guy on the other end and she had to break his poor heart. Quinn lifted her head from Rachel's shoulder to sit back and watch her, wondering why she's not speaking. She could only imagine how freaked out Finn must be.

Quinn finally rolled her eyes and slapped Rachel's arm with the back of her hand. She flinched at the touch and realized what was going on at last.

"It's not that I don't like you, Finn, please don't think that!"

"Then what am I supposed to think?"

"I'm sorry, I just… Something came up today. A-An opportunity, you could say. And it's amazing and great and all-around spectacular, and I can't let it pass me by. I'm really, really afraid I'll have ruined everything if I it slips through my fingers."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just come out and say that?"

"So, you're alright?"

"Yeah! Don't miss a chance in life if you really gotta go for it! Do your best, Rachel. I know you will."

"Thanks Finn." Finn had hung up and Rachel numbed herself, listening to the sound of the dial tone. She felt like she was lying to him, in a way. She didn't deserve to have him be happy for her. It wasn't fair.

Quinn gently removed the phone form the brunette's grasp, pressing "End" and closing it. She placed it on the bedside table and wrapped her arms around Rachel. "It's okay," she whispered.

Rachel fell into the girl's grasp and cried. She heaved against Quinn, but the blonde wouldn't let go.

* * *

Rachel and Quinn sat on the floor, flipping through the variety of sheet music and lyric books that the diva owned. Currently, said girl was trying to convince Quinn to watch some musical about a poor Russian family and true love, or something sappy like that. The blonde simply laughed and let her have her fantasy, though she didn't plan on doing so unless Rachel absolutely made her. Which, knowing her, wasn't out of the question.

Their banter eventually settled into a goofy wrestling match over a lyric book, Quinn nearly straddling Rachel, who was pressed flat against the floor of her room.

"Give it up, Rach. You're gonna lose this one."

"Rachel Berry does not give up." She clutched the music tighter to her chest.

"How much would you bet on that?"

"I'm not a betting woman."

"But if you were?"

"500 bucks that I do not have."

Quinn grinned widely and straddled Rachel, leaning down and grabbing her lips with her own. The smaller girl pressed back into the kiss. The blonde bit the other girl's bottom lip teasingly. Rachel's body jerked and relentlessly pushed against Quinn's immovable force. Their chests heaved, and they gasped for air only when they started to become lightheaded. Then, they would go back at it, Quinn always controlling the action. Rachel tried her room to make her own decisions by sliding her tongue across Quinn's lips questioningly. Both girls paused, and Rachel nodded her head, as if saying she was sure she wanted to do this. Quinn opened her mouth and greeted Rachel's tongue with her own. They started a war that the blonde won.

Easily, the brunette was heated and pushing the boundaries, begging for more without saying a word. Like every time before then, Quinn pulled back and away, leaving Rachel's needs unfulfilled.

"I win," Quinn breathed into the girl's tanned ear. Rachel released her heavy breaths and laid flat on her back against her carpet. She dropped the lyric book and sighed.

* * *

On a whim, Quinn made the decision to spend the night, though she hadn't bothered to ask her mom about it or even call her or anything responsible. It wouldn't really be a shock if she was spending the night at Rachel's, anyway. They've done it for weeks now, sometimes without proper warning.

Rachel slipped into the bed next to Quinn, who was reading a book.

"What are you reading?"

"Some Dickens book for school," she mumbled as her eyes focused on the page, following each word carefully.

"It must be good, since you can't take your eyes away from it for two seconds."

Quinn lifted a brow and then her head turned to face Rachel. "I can too take my eyes away from it."

"Good," Rachel giggled against Quinn's hair. The blonde shut the book and tossed it towards her backpack. She failed miserably at getting the object anywhere near her backpack, but she didn't mind.

"What?" Rachel was grinning at her like a fool.

"Nothing," she spoke with a bright smile. "I just love you, Quinn. You know that."

"Oh. Yeah, I know." Quinn still wasn't sure when she would be ready for _that_, but she knew that Rachel wasn't going to press the matter after she had declared herself ready to actually date the brunette.

"I'm glad," Rachel said. She scooted closer to Quinn and kissed her cheek sweetly.

Quinn nodded and slipped an arm around the brunette's waist. The girl was so slim under all those loose-hanging, animal-embroidered sweaters. They were cute, but Rachel's body underneath it all was much more appealing. She leaned down and kissed her girlfriend. Technically, they'd be girlfriends after their date tomorrow, but who really felt like getting technical?

Rachel curled into Quinn, slipping one leg between the blonde's and pressing their bodies together. They fit like puzzle pieces.

* * *

The next morning, the girls sat down at the Berry table to eat breakfast. Rachel had been pushing her food around her plate, despite being really hungry. She was having a mental debate with herself. At last, she lifted her head to speak.

"Quinn, can I tell you something?"

"Sure," she said in between mouthfuls.

"The other day, Santana called me."

"Santana? Why would she call you? I mean, no offense, but you aren't kind of person she'd talk to without a good reason backing her up."

"I'm fully aware of that, which is why it was strange when her voice came on the line. However, I think she had what was a good enough reason to her, which made her call me."

"Which was?"

"She's jealous, Quinn."

"Rach…"

"I'm not exaggerating or being dramatic. She told me to leave you alone because I was stealing you from her and Brittany. It's an insane accusation, but she felt the need to bring it up with me, nonetheless."

"Well, what did you say?" Quinn chewed her food slowly. Now she was started to realize how many times she'd picked Rachel over her Cheerio friends, and how often she would break up a previous topic of discussion to one that Rachel could be included in. She didn't want to think about how many instances there'd been where she completely ignored them the moment Rachel showed up. The guilt was heavy, even though she knew she never tried to do that to her friends on purpose. She just… what, forgot about them? That sounded a lot worse than the actual situation at hand.

"I told her no."

"You didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"Rachel, why would you do that?" Quinn covered her face with her hands, massaging her scalp, trying to relax. As much as she loved and cared for Rachel, it was the same feelings that made her upset right now. Couldn't Rachel have just agreed to lay off a little bit? No, of course not. And now Quinn had a hurt and jealous Latina Cheerio that probably now out to get her girlfriend. Great.

"Because I refuse to let her continue to push everyone around like their cattle. I for one will not stand to see this happen, least of all let myself become prey to her game. So I said no."

"You're screwed, Rach. And I really mean it."

"She can't do anything, Quinn."

"Yes, she can. If you would have agreed, she would have left you alone and I could have apologized and worked my way back into her good graces and we could still be dating."

Rachel's face fell and, with it, so did Quinn's stomach. "You mean, we can't… I mean, you won't date me? Because of Santana?"

"She's my friend."

"Well, I'm your girlfriend. Or at least I thought I was."

"You still are. Don't be so melodramatic."

"Quinn," Rachel whimpered, dabbing at her wet cheeks with her napkin. "I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry, Quinn."

Quinn watched Rachel's tears flow and she began to cry a little, too. She felt even guiltier before, now that she'd gotten stupidly angry and made Rachel cry. She stood up from the table and pulled her up from her chair. She wiped at the brunette's eyes and gently moved her hair out of her face.

"No, Rach. I'm the one who's sorry. You did nothing wrong. I'm just… confused, okay?" Rachel reached out, nodding, and Quinn closed the distanced, rubbing her friend's back in comforting circles.

* * *

Rachel had gotten to school before Quinn somehow, and was in the auditorium. She said she needed some time alone, so Quinn wasn't going to argue that.

The blonde slammed her locker shut with a loud noise, glad to let some of her anger out at something other than her girlfriend, who didn't deserve it.

"Quinn."

"Don't start with me, San," Quinn snapped, spinning around to walk in the other direction.

"I know something's going on with you and RuPaul," she said venomously, on Quinn's heels like this was a ritual they did every day. Their own version of cat and mouse.

"_Rachel's_ a wonderful person."

"And she's so totally gay for you."

Quinn stopped in her tracks and yanked herself around to face Santana. "So what if she is."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, Santana. I'm not. Rachel told me what you said to her on the phone."

"It was a friendly reminder."

"You think that's the way to get me back? To threaten my girlfriend?"

"What?" Santana's eyes grew wide and she smirked, stepping towards Quinn.

"Nothing. Never mind, I didn't say anything. It's nothing, just forget it." She stepped backwards and turned to hurry on down the hallway.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Q. You can't just go and say that and expect me to forget it."

"Please, S. Do me this one favor as my friend. _Don't_ tell anyone. This means a lot to me and even more to Rachel, and I really don't wanna screw this up for either of us. Besides, why do you care? You and Brittany are practically dating."

"Sex isn't dating."

"Then why do you care?"

"Because you can't ditch us for some Lima loser."

"I'm not ditching anyone, San."

"Sure you aren't."

"You know I'm not. I do want to ask you something though."

"What?"

"Can I punch you?"

"Sure, just not—"

"The face. I know." Quinn launched a fist at Santana's arm and instantly felt better to have released all her pent-up emotions. "Thanks, S."

Santana rubbed at the spot and rolled her eyes with a small smirk. "Anytime, Q."


	9. Admit It

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: I'm SO sorry for this being incredibly late, at least compared to the way I used to updte. I sort of hit a block, which I'm trying to push past, and school kind of overtook my life for a while. I'd been over-all too busy to properly write this. Anyway, here it is now, and I hope you guys like it. Don't forget to read and review! :)

* * *

Santana and Quinn had come to a more mutual understanding of each other, like they'd had before Rachel was an important part of Quinn's life. The blonde remedied the situation by correcting errors she'd done in the past by not repeating them. It worked well; Santana was no longer complaining about their friendship now that Rachel was in the picture. She still refused to quit insulting her, though. Some things just never changed.

* * *

It was Friday, the day Quinn and Rachel's date was supposed to happen, and Rachel had no clue where they would be going or what she was supposed to wear. What if she showed up to a really fancy restaurant in casual attire? How _bad_ would that be? Luckily, Rachel's suspense didn't last long because she found a note in her locker that morning. Quinn seemed to enjoy doing that.

'I'll be by your house to pick you up at 8. Dress up ;)'

Rachel smiled and blushed slightly, tucking the paper into her locker safely. She wondered what she should wear for the occasion when Quinn approached.

"Did you get my note?"

Rachel nodded and hugged Quinn tightly, squeezing her arms around the girl before letting go. The blonde leaned down and kissed Rachel's forehead, then watching her leave for her class. Quinn leaned back onto the lockers and sighed softly, smiling as she watched the brunette make her way down the hall.

* * *

8:00. Rachel was wearing a subtle, creamy dress with heels that made her closer to Quinn's height, though not quite the same. She looked towards the door anxiously, waiting for the girl to show up. Her impatience was growing, and it had only recently turned 8 o'clock. Nonetheless, the ever-prepared girl that Rachel Berry was, she was ready nearly an entire hour before Quinn's written arrival time.

After what felt like years to Rachel, the door bell rang. She hurried to the door, standing a moment to smooth out her dress and not appear so quick to answer. She opened the door and smiled towards the blonde. She was wearing a short dress, white with colored accents, and a bow around her mid-section. It made Quinn that much more beautiful, if such a thing was even possible. They paused to take in one another's appearance, the blonde biting her lip as she did so.

"Hey," Quinn finally said, hugging Rachel briefly. "Your carriage awaits you," she joked, motioning towards her car.

Rachel grinned widely and reveled in the scent and air that Quinn had about her. It was so much a part of the girl Rachel had come to love. She darted to the blonde's side and slid into the passenger seat.

"So," she drew out. "Where are we going?"

"Don't ask."

"Why not?"

"It's a _surprise_. That's why not."

"Oh," she mused, laughing gently as she watched images fly by her in the dimming night outside the window.

Quinn reached over and took Rachel's hand in hers, just smiling as she drove. The brunette smiled, too, gazing at their entwined hands, and returned her eyes to watching the window.

Minutes later, Quinn stopped at the side of a road and shifted into 'Park.' Rachel leaned towards Quinn's window, scrunching her nose at what she could hardly see in the moon-lit darkness.

"Where are we?"

"Dinner," Quinn murmured, kissing Rachel's cheek sweetly.

"I don't understand…"

"We're here. Come on, let's go." She stepped out of the car and waited for Rachel to stand by her. Once she did, Quinn grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her along. "Watch your step," she warned.

The two treaded through wet grass and up and down hills, until they reached a fairly flat clearing. Set up there was a blanket with candles and what looked to be a meal of sorts. "Here we are," the blonde whispered, squeezing Rachel's hand absently. God, she hoped she liked it.

"It's…" Rachel was somewhat stunned, looking at the beautiful set-up Quinn had created. And it was all for her.

"You don't—"

"I love it," she spit out, willing her vocal chords to work.

"You sure?" Quinn bit her lip and watched the flames flicker in the soft winds that came and left.

Rachel nodded and slipped an arm around Quinn's waist. "I'm sure." She smiled and allowed herself to be led to their dinner. They were perhaps a bit over-dressed, but it was sweet and romantic and set the mood.

The girls sat down and ate their way through the humble meal Quinn had packed, which was very picnic-y. It was sort of that, after all. Once they were finished, they laid back on their blanket to watch the stars. One hand in Quinn's, Rachel used her other one to point out stars and spout information about them that she'd picked up over the years. And, not surprisingly, how she would relate them to famous people in terms of fame and success, as well as importance and talent. Quinn was only half-listening, more focused on the girl beside her than what she was saying. She looked perfect in the moonlight, and so Quinn leaned over and kissed her forehead softly.

"What was that for?" Rachel wasn't against the idea, but she was curious why it had come out of nowhere.

"For being you."

"Oh," she mumbled, scooting closer to the blonde and settling her head in the crook of her neck.

"How was it?" She whispered into Rachel's ear quietly.

She shivered a bit in response to the proximity of Quinn's breath, but she was able to recover and speak through her goose-bumps. "It was wonderful," she sighed contently. She played with the bow on Quinn's dress quietly as she listened and focused on the other girl's steady, rhythmic breathing pattern.

Quinn exhaled and a smile broke across her face. "I'm glad. I wanted this to be special." She lifted their joined hands and settled them on her stomach quietly, thinking about the way they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, and how amazing everything had gone that night, and how much she loved Rachel. Especially the last part.

"It was amazing!" She shifted to kiss Quinn and grinned when they broke away, snuggling against the girl again. Quinn grinned too, and went back to staring at Rachel.

"What?" Rachel looked up at the blonde, questioning.

"Nothing," Quinn whispered, biting her lip in a smile.

"Quinn," Rachel began to whine gently.

"You're not going to listen or believe me."

"I beg to differ."

"I'm just admiring how beautiful and sexy you are," she spoke, laughing in a slightly teasing tone at the end.

"Hm." Rachel focused her gaze back unto the stars, feeling inclined to argue the point, but not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Why don't you agree, Rach?"

She shrugged her shoulder a bit and kept her eyes on the sky. "Because I'm not a self-confident person, Quinn. Underneath my personality, which, may I point out, everyone hates, I'm not vain, nor do I have high self-esteem. I try my hardest to be my best and all it does is irritate everyone around me."

"Rach…"

"Admit it, Quinn."

"No way. I'm not going to say what you want to hear because I don't think that at all. You're beautiful and strong, and I don't care what you say because not everyone in the world hates you. If I hated you, I wouldn't be here right now."

"They do too," Rachel muttered to herself.

"They do _not_." She took Rachel's face in her hands and turned it so that they were making eye contacts. "They don't, Rachel. Mercedes even said that you're really sweet under it all, and that Glee has become your little family. Now I know you know that much."

Rachel nodded.

"So stop putting yourself down and start raising yourself up. Because, if you don't, you're going to have one angry girlfriend." She smiled on the last line, lightening the mood in any ways she could.

Luckily, Rachel laughed. "Okay."

"Good. Now. What do you say we head back to your place and hang out there for a while?"

"I say that sounds great."

"Then let's pack up and go, shall we?"

"We shall."

* * *

The next week at school, Quinn and Rachel wanted to announce their relationship to the Glee kids. Eventually, people would find out, but Glee club was their priority group to inform. Quinn wasn't so worried—she'd been HBIC before. However, Rachel was concerned they would find one more reason to dislike her and it would worsen her opinion of her.

"That makes no sense."

"Yes, it does! I have every right to be nervous about this. It's a private matter that we are going to discuss and I feel it best to be worried."

"Now, how is this even that bad?"

"I… I don't know, it just is."

"If you think it's because of the whole 'gay' factor, I don't see a reason to freak out. Kurt's gay."

"Kurt's also a boy."

"Well, I don't see any of the guys having a bitch fit over it. Except Finn, but he has to live with the boy, so I get that. Besides, Finn's kind of a pansy."

"Finn's a good guy."

"Enough about Finn. Just don't worry, okay? I'll be right next to you the entire time."

"Okay," Rachel gave in with a heavy breath.

"You're so cute when you're nervous," Quinn laughed.

"Quinn," Rachel whimpered.

"Chill out, Rach." Quinn leaned down to place a kiss on the brunette's forehead. "Everything will be fine."

* * *

Mr. Schuester was about to start introducing their next assignment for the week, when Rachel raised her hand after Quinn's knee-nudges, speaking.

"Mr. Schue, I have something I'd like to say."

"Uh, sure, Rachel. Take it away." Mr. Schue gestured to the floor and stepped off to the side.

"Well," Rachel spoke, standing up and walking towards the front of the room with Quinn following.

Most everyone, aside from three or four Glee members, watched what was happening with a piqued curiosity. The others sat back, guessing at what was to come.

"Quinn and I," Rachel began, her hand reaching out and finding Quinn's, "are dating."

The room was quiet and some murmurs and whispers went around. It seemed though that only Mr. Schuester and Finn were the shocked ones. Everyone looked as if they were slightly disappointed with what the brunette said.

"See, I told you," Quinn whispered to Rachel.

"No one's talking," she whispered back quickly.

"Well?" Quinn put her free hand on her hips, surveying all the students.

Mercedes and Kurt sat back, not willing to spill exactly what they saw in the auditorium. Better left unsaid. Artie glanced at Tina who was watching her hands. "W-Well," she tried to say.

Matt spoke up, to Tina's relief. "It's not that big a deal," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "We kinda knew something was going on, I guess." He looked to the others for approval and they all laughed and nodded, save for Finn.

Rachels' eyes were trained on Finn, her body tensed and waiting for his reaction. "Rachel, I…" He shook his head and rested it in his palms. He stood up and pushed his chair away, frustrated, with questions left unanswered. Rachel decided she had to speak with him after Glee. She'd find him somewhere.

* * *

Rachel wandered around for nearly an hour until she took to her last resort place to search for Finn Hudson: the boys' locker room. It was the most terrifying place, and she knew it was not proper to do during school, but school had let out and this was necessary. Sure enough, he was sitting on a bench inside, down a few rows of lockers.

"Finn," Rachel spoke, watching the way he sat and shifted subtly.

His head jerked up, grimacing from the pain and who he was looking at. He didn't answer.

"Finn…" She sat next to him on the bench, staring at her feet. "I owe you an apology."

"For lying to me? Yeah, I think I agree."

"Well, yes. Though I didn't lie about Family Game Night. We actually did play a game that night. But… I shouldn't have agreed to go out with you at all, Finn. My heart was in the right place, but I just didn't feel the same way that I knew you felt. It's my fault for starting any of this with you, when all along my feelings and intentions lied elsewhere."

He pursed his lips, staring hard at the girl next to him. "You're right. But, how long have you liked Quinn… like _that?_"

"Nearly a year."

"A year? What about our thing? What about you and Puck? How could you have—"

"I thought it was a fluke," she interrupted. "My feelings for Quinn, that is. I thought it was simply another phase I was going through and that I would get over it, so I pushed myself into all the wrong relationships, and though I knew it wasn't what I truly wanted, it still hurt and I couldn't handle the constant ups and downs. I sort of gave up, Finn. I needed to follow my heart, so to speak."

"So I was second-best? I was just another attempt to squash your feelings?"

"Finn, I didn't mean it like that."

"Well then what did you mean?" There was a cold and bitter tone to his voice, making Rachel frown.

"I meant that I wanted to love you. I tried to. But I couldn't deny how I really felt, even if it was for Quinn Fabray, of all the people for me to fall for."

"She dropped you though. Why can't you be my girlfriend again? Then you can forget about Quinn and everything will be fixed," he said, rubbing a hand up and down Rachel's back.

She flinched at the first contact, but relaxed regretfully into it. "I can't, Finn."

"Why not? I can be everything for you. I'm all you need, Rach." She looked away. Rach. She only associated that name with Quinn's voice, and it pained her to let him believe they were falling into that pattern again.

"Because, Finn. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm gay, and I'm okay with it, even if you're not. I'm also in love with Quinn, and I don't _want_ anyone or anything else. Just her. I could live my whole life with her and be completely content, Finn. Do you understand? I'm serious about her and I being together. Very deeply serious and I'm just as sorry about how this must be for you. And, even worse, that I let you think you had a chance with me all along."

"Rachel…"

"Finn, I really am sorry." She reached out a hand and placed it on the top of his, which had gone back to resting palm-down on the wood. He turned his hand over and curled his fingers around hers. They sat there, both eyeing their hands.

"I know," Finn said, nodding.

"I shouldn't have blamed you. Sorry, Rachel."

Rachel laughed lightly. "Both of us having a pity party isn't going to get us anywhere. I'm ready to finally be friend, with no ulterior motives. Are you?" She stood and stuck out a hand for him to shake.

He smiled, stood as well, and shook her hand. "I'm ready to try."

"Thank you, Finn," she whispered, hugging him suddenly.

He smiled and pulled her small form to his larger one affectionately. "Anytime, Rach." This time, the shortened name took on a much more caring, friendly tone that was ultimately easier to handle.


	10. I Don't Need Rights

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

A/N: This is the last chapter of the story, so read and REVIEW! I had fun writing this story, and I hope you guys had just as much fun in reading along. Enjoy the last chapter :)

* * *

"How did Finn take it?"

"Well." Rachel sighed, flopping onto the bed, on the phone with her now-girlfriend, Quinn Fabray. She still couldn't get over that. "I mean, he seemed to understand in the end, and he hugged me, but… I'm almost afraid he doesn't fully understand the situation, no matter how clear I try to make it to him."

"Hm. Stupid boy." Quinn smirked half-heartedly, knowing Rachel couldn't see it.

"Quinn, he's still my friend."

"Much to my dismay, may I point out."

"Relax, Quinn," Rachel murmured. "It's not like I'm going to do a 180 and become totally straight for him."

"Like you were before, when you were so intent on stealing him from me."

Rachel winced at the resurfacing regret and memories, reminding herself just how long she'd strung poor Finn along hopelessly. "Quinn, I have to tell you something. Is that okay?"

"You can tell me anything, you know that." Quinn chewed her lip slightly as she noticed the way Rachel had avoided a protest or an 'I'm still sorry about that' towards her comment on the previous boyfriend-snatching.

"The thing is… I was never fully straight. Okay, perhaps I was when I was younger or something, but not since high school."

"So, you were, like, bi, right? Wait, are you gay or bi?" The blonde briefly wondered if that was an offensive way to ask.

"Gay." Rachel seemed unfazed by Quinn's question. "And, no, I was never really bi. I mean, I guess I was trying really hard to force myself into being straight, but that was because I thought the feelings would go away. Usually, I would embrace such an important part of who I am, regardless of whether or not I had any inkling of it before it arose, but I couldn't seem to admit to liking a girl. Not when that girl was you, anyway."

Quinn sat quietly at her desk, fumbling with papers absently. "Wait, so, you mean you liked me before you dated Finn?"

"Yes."

"And you only dated Finn because you thought it would turn you straight or something?"

"Yes."

"And Puck?"

"And Puck."

"Wow."

"Quinn?"

No answer.

"Quinn?" Rachel's breath was panicky; she was unsure of how the girl had reacted to her confessions.

Quinn gulped before finally answering. "Y-Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine," she said, reassuring herself.

"I'm sorry, Quinn, I shouldn't have let this all out on you like I did. Finn had to know, but you didn't need to find out so quickly."

"Hey, I have just as much a right to know as he does, if not more."

Rachel cocked her head and thought about that, shrugging and saying, "I suppose."

"Don't you want to know what I think?"

"Yes," Rachel whispered meekly into the phone.

"Well, first, going back to my original problem, I'm glad that Finn isn't going to be all over you anymore. Really glad. Second… I don't know, actually. I guess I'm glad you're with me now, obviously, but I know if you would have said it earlier I probably would have ruined any chance we would have had together, romantically or otherwise."

Rachel nodded. "I understand. Finn actually thought he could convince me to be with him, as if I could just change who I am. It was rather disgusting and somewhat hurtful, in the end."

"What? I'll punch him… The nerve," Quinn muttered.

"Quinn, don't. He's not worth it and I want to salvage what's left of our friendship. It wouldn't help him get through this 'issue' if my girlfriend, his issue of sorts, brutally battered him in public."

"I wouldn't—"

"I'm not stupid, Quinn. I know you'd do more than just punch him and leave it at that."

"Fine. But if he makes another stupid-ass attempt to change you, I _will_ hurt him. He has no right to do that."

"Technically, you don't have the right to punch him for not having the right to do that."

"Whatever. I don't need rights. I'll do it anyway."

"Oh, Quinn," Rachel giggled softly, pulling the covers up to her chest, knowing they would talk into the wee morning hours before either one even thought of hanging up.

* * *

Rachel arrived at school a new girl. She was a new, brighter Rachel Berry with more spunk and outward confidence than anyone could have ever expected possible or even legal. And right by her side was an equally beaming Quinn. They showed their feelings as was appropriate to do at school without worrying about anyone seeing them. They'd learn to stop caring about it so much. People were going to be judgmental and hurtful anyway, so there was essentially no point in trying to hide what was going on between them.

Though most Glee kids agreed that the cuteness and general connection between them was a bit sickeningly sweet, the girls didn't mind at all.

Rachel and Quinn were sitting side by side, Rachel's head resting on Quinn's shoulder. Mr. Schuester stood at the front of the class, animatedly talking about various musical terms, keeping only half the group focused. Quinn could hear Brittany and Santana flirting and giggling behind her, and she cast a look sideways to smile at Rachel's perfect and attentive face. Everything felt righted now between them. It was odd, though. Several weeks ago she wouldn't have held a conversation with Rachel Berry, not even it her life depended on it. Now, however, they couldn't get enough of each other. It was quite weird.

Quinn chewed her lip and stared at the whiteboard in the front of the room, seemingly to gaze emptily right on through it. She had her legs crossed, one hand in Rachel's, and her other arm was draped over her top leg that was crossed. She tilted her head slightly and continued thinking about their relationships and how she secretly thanked Mr. Schue for inadvertently bringing them together in the most peculiar way.

Rachel lifted her head off of her girlfriend's shoulder, turning to look at Quinn, who didn't have a notion of what was going on around her.

"Quinn," Rachel whispered, patting Quinn's leg with her right hand.

The blonde shook her head and jerked upright. "What?" She glanced between her teacher and her girlfriend. She felt like she had missed a crucial piece or two of information. "What?" Quinn hissed at Rachel somewhat desperately, hyperaware of the burning stares from the other Glee kids.

"Mr. Schue asked if we were all okay with attempting more trust building skills that are fundamental to being a strong team, and, well, you were quite obviously not paying any attention whatsoever."

Quinn grinned sheepishly. Was that all? "Yes, I'm fine with that."

"Good!" Rachel grinned back, resuming her position of snuggling up to Quinn and waited for instructions from Schue.

"Alright, guys. We have to go outside for this one. Don't worry, you'll have your same partners from before, and, Artie, Tina, feel free to join in on this one. Let's go on out to the field. It should be empty about now."

Quinn stood groggily, head heavy and clouded, and followed Rachel's guiding hand outside, though Quinn was able to keep her balance without a problem. "Mr. Schue, why do we have to go outside?"

"Because, guys, you don't want to try running in a small classroom. That'd get overly crowded and is a recipe for disaster." William Schuester laughed and smiled, beckoning them with a gesture as he held the door open, revealing the football field.

"Now," Mr. Schuester began, gesturing to the entirety of the grassy field. "If you'll all get with your partner from before, we'll get started. Okay. So, here I have blindfolds. Enough for half of you. That means one partner is blindfolded while the other isn't. I'm gonna let you choose which of you wants to be blindfolded first, and then the partner that can see will lead the blindfolded member across the field. First, start at a walk. Then you should be up to running speed by the time you reach the opposite end."

Quinn shifted from foot to foot as their teacher went on and on, explaining the task further in detail. "You sure you're up for this, Rach?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"I didn't exactly do my part last time we had to trust each other."

"This is different," Rachel insisted. "_We're_ different. And I don't care how many times you hurt me before we were together. What matters now is that we put that behind us and see each other in a new way."

Quinn chuckled, leaning down to place a kiss on Rachel's lips. "Your non-stop talking really is too cute."

"You know, I think I'm okay with that right now." She smiled against Quinn's lips, reaching up onto her tip-toes to kiss Quinn sweetly on the nose and tangle her fingers in the blonde locks.

Quinn grinned and wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist, pulling her close. She put pressure on the brunette's hips, pushing theirs tightly together, smirking down at her girlfriend. Rachel shyly gazed up at Quinn, putting her arms around the taller girl's midsection, leaning into her.

Around them, people snickered and rolled their eyes. Mr. Schuester had to clear his throat considerably loudly to get the girls to focus back on him and realize just where they were. Quinn beamed, albeit somewhat guiltily, while Rachel hid her face in Quinn, blushing from cheek to cheek. Finally, Mr. Schuester told them to choose who was to be blindfolded first, and then they could begin the exercise.

"Well? Me or you, Rach?"

"Is it alright if you go first?"

"You just wanna relive that day, don't you?"

"Hush, I do _not_." Rachel was fiddling with the cloth to get it tied around Quinn's head securely. She tugged at the knot, shifting from behind Quinn to in front of her, making sure the cloth was fitted correctly. "Can you see anything?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Promise?"

Quinn laughed and smiled at the voice, unable to visually locate the girl it belonged to. "Yes, I promise. It's fine. No sight whatsoever."

"Good. Now, give me your hand," Rachel commanded. Quinn held her arm straight out, expecting Rachel to do the work and get to it. She did, and held Quinn's hand in hers. "I've got you. We're going to start now, okay?"

"Sure."

Rachel pulled Quinn behind her at a walking pace, not feeling much of a difference form usual, since the brunette almost always dragged Quinn around as it was. She began to quicken her steps, now speed-walking. Quinn seemed to match the speed pretty well, fairly close to the leader of the two. Soon enough, Rachel was at full-out sprint, grinning from ear-to-ear, despite the fact that she was pointedly not cut out for sports, as determined by her way of running. Quinn hurried after, not afraid to move faster, since she could tell how close she was to Rachel by how the length of the brunette's arm adjusted. By the end, Quinn was standing in one spot, not sure who or what was directly around her.

"Can I take it off now?"

"Yes," Rachel panted in a laugh, reaching up to untie the blindfold.

"I got it, Rach." Quinn smirked and slipped it right over her eyes and off her head.

"So, did you keep up with me well enough?"

"You're no professional athlete, so, yeah, it wasn't too hard."

Rachel pouted and Quinn rolled her eyes at the dramatic look. "I'm kidding. Well, not really. You're not cut out for sports. But it was fine. Everything was fine, okay?"

Rachel nodded, reaching around to hug Quinn, still exhilarated from running the length of the football field.

"It's your turn now. Come here."

Rachel paused, hesitant to be blindfolded and lead across a large, potentially dangerous field. "Maybe this isn't a good idea, Quinn."

"What? I did it and I'm perfectly fine. God, I never meant to drop you in the first place Rachel."

"Oh, I know that."

"You finally get it?"

"I have eyes, Quinn. I see the way you watch me and become tense when people other than you talk to me."

_Wow, way to blow that one, Fabray._ Quinn had really had no clue that her girlfriend had any idea that she got horribly upset and over-protective when people tried to have a conversation with her. "See? I told you! Besides, you don't have a choice, so get over here." Quinn grinned and locked her arms around Rachel's waist from behind, pulling the girl close to her chest. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She laughed and kissed her girlfriend's hair. She went about putting the blindfold on, checking to confirm that Rachel was utterly blind.

"You have to trust me, Rachel."

Rachel breathed deeply. "I know."

"Good. We're going to start walking. Just hold my hand." Their hands were already entwined, so that was much easier to put trust into. Rachel followed Quinn's slow steps, and kept up fairly well when she sped up. Then Quinn was running on pure giggles, many of the Glee members at the same trot. She turned to run backwards as she pulled Rachel, accidentally hitting Kurt and Mercedes on the way, throwing Kurt, Quinn and Rachel onto the ground. Mercedes had avoided the contact. Quinn screeched in a fit of high-pitched squeals as she tumbled to the ground, jerking Rachel down with her. Rachel's screams were of pure fright and terror, which made Quinn's seriousness and her attention go straight to the brunette.

Rachel was half on top of Quinn, half falling off of her. "Hey," Quinn cooed. She stroked the girl's brown hair. "Rach, are you okay? Hey."

Rachel hands were now both clutching Quinn's shirt's fabric tightly, her face hidden in the blonde's toned stomach. She shook her head fervently, causing Quinn to maneuver around the brunette so she could shift into a sitting position without harming her.

"Rachel, I'm so sorry. Hey," Quinn pleaded, placing her hands on Rachel's cheeks. She lifted the girls head, which she found out was awfully wet with tears. "Oh God, are you okay?" She forced the smaller girl to hold her own body up, that way Quinn could easily assess the damage done.

"No, I am _not_ okay."

Quinn frowned deeply, waiting until Kurt and Mercedes had left again to speak. "Shit. Are you hurt? Did you break a bone? Come on, give me something to work with."

Rachel sat back on the grass, bringing her knees to her chest, apparently not caring that she had a skirt on. "Look," she said, pointing at her right knee, tracing the scrapes and wincing each time she touched one.

"I can't believe this," Quinn groaned, pushing her hair out of her face in a blatantly frustrated manner. "I screwed up _again_."

Rachel couldn't exactly deny that, for she did manage to hurt Rachel in some way each time they'd done a trust builder. "I'm perfectly fine," Rachel sniffled. "It's only a scratch," she insisted, standing up with a flinch, leaning heavily on the leg without the injury.

"It is not, Rachel. Stop saying it's fine. It's not. I'm going to get the first aid kit, okay? See, you can't even walk." She pointed accusingly as Rachel hobbled, Quinn partially acknowledging the brunette's lack of experience with physical pain and her tendency to dramatize the smallest things. However, because of Rachel's inexperience of getting hurt, Quinn was positive she had to fix the situation. "Let's go," Quinn snapped out, bringing herself to her feet and grabbing Rachel's hand determinedly. She patiently walked with her at a pace that Quinn could only guess alleviated some of the brunette's pain.

The Glee kids finished their runs and were talking with Mr. Schuester and amongst themselves, no one daring to infringe on Quinn and Rachel's problem at the moment. They simply let them go back into the school and towards their classroom.

* * *

"Rachel, I'm so, _so _sorry."

"I accept your apology, but I will be fine."

"Yeah? Okay, then go on, walk without me holding you up."

"Quinn…" Rachel huffed and kept her arms securely locked around Quinn's side. "I can't. It stings."

Quinn shook her head. "Then stop trying to say everything's okay when it's not. Here, sit down." She used her leg to drag a chair closer, shifting her hold on Rachel to allow her to sit in the chair. "I'll get the First Aid Kit. Do you know where it is?"

"Top row of cabinets, far left. Second shelf. I've seen Mr. Schue rummage through the cabinets quite often. He never seems to remember where he puts things. I, however, have an impeccable memory. One that is well adapted and adequate for memorizing lines."

"Of course you do," Quinn agreed, nodding with a laugh as she made her way to said are of the cabinetry. "What size band-aid do you need?"

"I thought _you_ were taking care of _me_."

"Well then, why don't I come over there and poke at it? That should tell me what size you need." She started towards Rachel with a serious look.

"Quinn! No, that would hurt!" Rachel pouted as the blonde approached, shielding her knee with a hand, hovering it over the injury so as not to cause any more pain to it.

"I know," Quinn chuckled, stroking her hair lovingly. "I was kidding. Move your hand so I can see it."

Rachel hesitantly obeyed. "It's incredibly beaten up. It won't leave a scar, will it? I can't have a scar marring my perfect—"

"It's fine," Quinn interrupted. She smiled and shook her head, squatting in front of Rachel to get a better view of the scrape. "I might as well get the big one, since you fell pretty hard. I'm sorry," Quinn repeated, bouncing up to standing height and leaning down to be eye-level with the brunette. She searched the girl's brown eyes and half-smiled. "Sorry," she once again mended, kissing Rachel's forehead before walking away.

Quinn managed to get the bandage swiftly and packed up the kit with ease, sliding it back onto the shelf and closing the cabinet door. "Actually, I should get something to clean it with," she said, mostly to herself, as she got some paper towels wet and grabbed a dry one as well. She sat cross-legged in front of Rachel, ready to fix her up. "This might sting," she warned.

"Quinn, don't say that. Doctors always lie when they say that, because, no matter how much they say it might hurt, it is guaranteed to _actually_—Ouch! Quinn!" Rachel frowned, wincing from the cold and the pain in conjunction with it. She shot a hand out to hold her aching knee, but she had it promptly swatted away by Quinn.

"Don't touch it. I told you it would sting." She rubbed the cold paper towel against the red cut, glancing between what she was doing and the pained look on Rachel's face. "I'm done cleaning it, look." She held up the wet paper towel as Rachel examined her knee.

"It still hurts," Rachel whined.

"I know, I'm sorry. Just sit still while I dry it and put the band-aid on." She patted the cut dry, careful as not to put too much pressure on the wound. "You're okay," she soothed. "I'm gonna put the band-aid now. This is the easy part." She smiled reassuringly at Rachel and rubbed her thigh to comfort her a bit. "There," she said, grinning at Rachel. "I'm done." Quinn stood and brushed herself off. "You're going to be fine, I promise." She held out a hand that Rachel willingly took and hoisted the smaller girl up.

"Thank you, Quinn." Rachel smiled like she owed her entire life to Quinn and hugged her warmly.

"You're welcome," she murmured, closing her eyes, sinking into the hug and the feel of Rachel's body heat against her own. "Rachel?" Quinn whispered, feeling that was a more appropriate volume.

"Hm?" Rachel had her head resting on Quinn's shoulder, leaning it softly against the blonde's neck.

"Rachel." Quinn pulled away, holding Rachel's arms gently, to gaze at the girl's face. A smile spread across her face as she kissed her girlfriend. She slipped her hands to Rachel's waist and whispered, "I love you," into the brunette's tan neck.

Those words alone stole the breath right out of Rachel's lungs and she eagerly responded with, "I love you, too!" And, in that moment, alone in an otherwise empty school building, Rachel felt invincible.


End file.
